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Merkel Urges Turkey to Resolve Cyprus Conflict

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Cyprus on the second leg of her two-day Mediterranean tour. She held talks with Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, focusing on the conflict dividing the island.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel continued her two-day Mediterranean tour in Cyprus on Tuesday, with talks focusing on the conflict that has separated the island for more than three decades.
After meeting with Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, Merkel said it was up to Turkey to put more effort into resolving the situation. She praised the steps taken by the Cypriot government:
“They’ve really proved their willingness to compromise, but unfortunately there hasn’t been any response [from the Turkish side] so far,” Merkel said after talks in the Cypriot capital.
Stefanos Evripidou, chief reporter for the Cyprus Mail newspaper, said that Merkel’s criticism of Turkey went down well in the capital.
“Coming from a powerhouse like Germany, these are pretty strong words,” Evripidou told Deutsche Welle. “In a sense [Merkel is] giving her vote of confidence to President Christofias’ handling of the Cyprus problem.”
Merkel added a personal note to the visit, commenting that she knew what it was to grow up in a divided country, and pledging her support for peace negotiations.
“We in Germany, and of course I personally understand what the division of a country means,” Merkel added. The German chancellor grew up in the former East Germany.
Christofias said the visit was of “fundamental importance” for peace talks, which are now in their third year.
It is the first ever visit to the eastern Mediterranean island by a German head of state. On Monday, Merkel held talks with politicians in Malta, where she discussed the state of the single euro currency.
Both Cyprus and Malta adopted the euro currency in 2008.
The visits are aimed at signaling the importance of good relations with the European Union’s smaller member states.
(source: DW)

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