UN envoy says Erdogan ready to deal on Cyprus

A UN envoy says that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ready to “play ball” on reaching a deal on reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus.

But Espen Barth Eide indicated in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that it's unclear where Erdogan wants to take a summit in Geneva next month that aims to hammer out a comprehensive peace accord.

Greece, Turkey and Britain will participate in the summit to overcome the major hurdle of providing security in an envisioned federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup aiming at union with Greece.

Eide says neither Greece nor Turkey wants the decades-old conflict to remain frozen because a Cyprus deal would help resolve overarching regional issues.

[AP]