Roundup: Turkey says will not hesitate to take steps for permanent Cyprus solution

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey will not hesitate to take "necessary steps for a permanent solution" of the four-decade old Cyprus problem.

Davutoglu, paying a visit to the occupied part of Cyprus inhabited almost entirely by Turkish Cypriots, said Turkey will continue to contribute to talks led by the United Nations.

Davutoglu was speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci after talks on the state of the ongoing negotiations brokered by the United Nations aimed at reaching a Cyprus settlement.

"It is our common wish that this process will bring positive results," Davutoglu said.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been living apart since Turkish troops occupied the northern one third of the eastern Mediterranean island in 1974, in reaction to a short lived coup organized by the officers of the military junta ruling Greece at the time.

The Greek Cypriot led government, which is recognized by the United Nations and the European Union (EU) as the sole legitimate authority representing all Cyprus, says that Turkey's vows to help towards a Cyprus solution will be tested by pulling out about 40,000 occupation troops and denouncing international guarantees.

Under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment which led to the end of the British colonial rule in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and Britain were named guarantor powers.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Akinci said after seven months of negotiations that they have made enough progress on power sharing, economic issues and application of EU rules to justify hope for a solution soon.

But they conceded that there are still problems over the future of properties, mostly Greek Cypriot, which were abandoned by their owners as Turkish troops advanced.

The properties were allocated to Turkish Cypriots who were moved from all over Cyprus to the occupied part of the island and to thousands of mainland Turkish settlers.

The issues of security, guarantees and withdrawing of the Turkish troops are expected to be discussed at an international conference to be held after all other issues have been discussed and agreed by the two Cypriot leaders.

Cyprus's division has been an obstacle to Turkey's accession to the EU, as several negotiations chapters have been frozen as a result of its Cyprus-related policies.

At a brief unprecedented meeting with the Cypriot president at a EU-Turkey summit on Sunday in Brussels, Davutoglu acknowledged that a solution to the Cyprus problem will help Turkey's negotiations to advance forward. Endit