ANKARA
Turkey hopes a permanent solution can be found to the Cyprus issue with the resumption of dialogue between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.
Addressing a joint press conference with Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci in the capital of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Lefkosa, Cavusoglu said: "Turkey is pleased with the start of negotiations on May 15, which were suspended in October last year.
"If the two parties are determined, a permanent solution and peace can be achieved," he added.
He reiterated Turkey's determination to resolve the issue and said everyone would benefit with a permanent solution.
The Turkish Cypriot president backed Cavusoglu’s remarks.
"It is time to enter a new era that will let our people in Cyprus live in fairness and security," Akinci said.
Political tensions in the long-divided island have eased since full-fledged talks resumed on May 15 and Akinci was elected the new Turkish Cypriot president last month.
Akinci and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades met for an unprecedented tour at a historical site in Lefkosa on May 23 and will reconvene on May 28.
The Greek Cypriot administration had unilaterally suspended the talks last October after Turkey issued an advisory on behalf of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for seismic research off the coast of Cyprus.
The island was divided into a Turkish Cypriot government in the northern third and a Greek Cypriot administration in the southern two-thirds after a 1974 military coup by Greece was followed by the peace operation of Turkey as a guarantor state in Cyprus.
Train-and-equip program begins
About the train-and-equip program for Syrian opposition forces in Turkey, the Turkish foreign minister said: "We can say that the train-and-equip [program] has started with small groups."
"All infrastructures and the necessary equipment have been established. Both Turkish and American personnel that will train and equip have been allocated. The U.S. and Turkey together will carry out the selection process of the people who are going to be trained and equipped," Cavusoglu said.
Turkey inked an agreement with the U.S. in February to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition forces as a part of the U.S.-led coalition’s effort to battle Daesh.
Cavusoglu told a local Turkish daily on May 16 that 300 Syrian fighters had arrived for the program on May 9.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan have also agreed to join the effort to train Syrian opposition. The U.S. plans to train as many as 5,000 Syrians during a 12-month period, according to the Pentagon.
Cavusoglu is also scheduled to meet Parliament Speaker Sibel Siber and Prime Minister Ozkan Yorgancioglu during his working visit in Lefkosa.
