NEWS

Cyprus FM to be at EU Turk talks

NICOSIA (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of Turkey and Cyprus will attend a summit in Finland next week seen as the last hope to end a logjam in Ankara’s EU entry talks as Turkey’s prime minister said he wanted a deal which benefits all sides. Confirmation that the Cypriot foreign minister would attend the November 26-27 meeting, two days after saying the chances of progress were so slim that he would not, offered a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough before the December 6 deadline for a deal. «The foreign minister has decided to go to Tampere for consultations with the Finnish (EU) presidency,» Cyprus government spokesman Christodoulos Pasiardis said. No meetings had been arranged between Cypriot Minister Giorgos Lillikas and Turkish Minister Abdullah Gul, he said. Diplomats have said they will use the summit of European and Mediterranean foreign ministers to push for a deal allowing Turkey to open its ports to Cyprus, a member of the European Union since 2004.

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