Turkish Cypriot leader wants solution by year-end

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat called for a resolution by the end of the year to the division of Cyprus, saying the passage of time was making a deal more difficult.
Leaders of Cyprus's estranged Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities started reunification talks in early September. By the end of the process, they will put any deal to a referendum.
"I prefer to have a solution until the end of the year. Time is very crucial … the status for now is quite entrenched and it is not easy to change it," Talat told Flash, a Greek radio station, in an interview aired on Saturday.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup, but seeds of conflict were sown earlier in clashes between its two communities after independence from Britain in 1960.
An army of mediators has failed to solve the problem, making it a source of friction between NATO allies Greece and Turkey, and complicating Turkey's bid to join the European Union.
Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004, represented in Brussels by its internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government. The north is a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognised only by Ankara.
Diplomats are cautiously optimistic of a deal, with a shift in sentiment following the election of Greek Cypriot moderate Demetris Christofias in presidential elections last February.
"The intention is to solve the Cyprus problem I said by the end of this year, Mr. Christofias said the beginning of 2009," Talat said, according to a transcript of the English-language interview made available to Reuters by Flash Radio.
Although the two sides have previously agreed to reunite Cyprus as a federation, there are differences on how it would work. There are also unresolved issues in disputes over territory and property, the result of internal displacement of thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
"The main problem is the property issue," said Talat, adding that territorial disputes were also difficult. "The other (issues) are easier if you compare to those of property and territories," he said.
As talks go forward, Greek Cypriots should stop blaming Turkey for the situation in Cyprus, and accept more involvement of the United Nations in the process, Talat said. Turkey has 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus.
Christofias and Talat are scheduled to attend the next round of reunification talks on Oct. 10. That week, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and former Algerian foreign minister Lakhdar Brahimi will visit the island to lend their support to the peace process.