BRUSSELS - The head of the European Commission said on Friday that Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders' recent decision to start full-fledged negotiations in Cyprus was an important step towards a solution that would be accepted by both parties and that would pave the way for the reunification of the island.
Releasing a statement, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that EU welcomed the decision to start negotiations and to take new confidence-building measures in Cyprus.
In the statement, Barroso said a unified and integrated Cyprus would benefit not only Cypriots, but EU as a whole.
Barroso also said that EU was ready to extend all kinds of support that would be requested by the parties within the scope of negotiations.
President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias decided to launch full-fledged talks on September 3rd, aiming to find a permanent solution to Cyprus problem in their meeting on Friday at the buffer zone in Cyprus.
(DO-EÖ)
(DIP)