President Mustafa Akıncı met yesterday with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond who came to Cyprus for holding high-level contacts related to solving the Cyprus problem.In a statement to the press after the meeting, President Mustafa Akıncı said that a settlement in Cyprus would be found both by the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots together. He also pointed out that the contribution of the international community is also very important in seeking a solution.Akıncı mentioned that the second meeting with Hammond was very fruitful and it is very natural for one of the guarantor states, the UK, to show proximity to the Cyprus problem. Moreover, Akıncı said “protecting and continuing the process for people living on this island, we are trying to do this. While we are continuing this effort, we expect every contribution coming from outside.” In a statement to the press after the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that they dealt with every aspect of the negotiations and he expressed his belief that there are concrete developments in the negotiations.Stating that there is a good working relationship between the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Nikos Anastasiades and himself, Akıncı said: “There are some serious issues to be solved concerning property, territorial adjustments and security/guarantees issues. In these negotiations, it has reached a key stage where both leaders have to put forward bold and creative solutions.”Indicating that the international community supports the negotiations, Hammond said that the UK is ready to give technical support to the negotiations and he also emphasized that he would help to have the funding needed in order to solve the issue of property.
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