Two Cypriot sides willing to do away with Cyprus problem: Cypriot President

The two communities of Cyprus are willing to do away with the long standing Cyprus problem, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday as reunification negotiations reached closer to their conclusion.

Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have three more meetings before they conclude this most critical phase of their negotiations, which started 16 months ago.

"Given the will by both sides to reach a final conclusion in the sense of finding a solution...I consider that the results (of remaining meetings) will be of a decisive importance," Anastasiades said.

In the three remaining meetings the two leaders will tackle the most difficult issues, including security arrangements and abrogation of legacy guarantees giving unilateral intervention rights to Turkey, Greece and Britain.

Turkey has suggested a five-party conference to reach decisions on security arrangements after a solution and the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers who occupied over one third of Cypriot territory in 1974, in reaction to a short-lived coup engineered by the military rulers of Greece at the time. Endit