leaders of North and South Cyprus are to meet again this week to advance peace talks aimed at the reunification of the island.
(prHWY.com) January 11, 2011 - lONDON, United Kingdom -- leaders of North and South Cyprus are to meet again this week to advance peace talks aimed at the reunification of the island.
The talks between the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, aim to find a negotiated settlement that will reunite the country under a federal roof.
Both sides are due to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Geneva to make further progress. Ongoing discussions have lasted over two years and Ban Ki-moon has stated his wish for a deal to be reached by mid-2011.
The greater co-operation between North and South Cyprus in recent years and the easing of restrictions between the two territories has led to an increase in number of people travelling to North Cyprus from the UK.
The largest tour operator to North Cyprus, Direct Traveller, is confident that more progress will be made: "It looks positive and we hope the talks make reunification possible.
"Around three million holidaymakers enjoy South Cyprus every year with only about 30,000 visiting the North.
"We have been able to increase those numbers and there is enormous potential to expand the market as North Cyprus has everything to offer that people enjoy in the South with the added benefit of fewer visitors.
"North Cyprus is genuinely a fantastic undiscovered destination within easy reach. The ongoing political process and ultimately a reunited country make it possible for many more people to visit the un-spoilt north of the island."
Given their experience as the North Cyprus specialist Direct Traveller have just announced the first 'two-centre' package holiday for the island - allowing visitors to stay at their preferred North Cyprus and South Cyprus hotels in the same package holiday.
The two-centre holiday offer is part of Direct Traveller's new brochure.
The tour operator offers direct flights to Larnaca from 18 destinations across the UK including all main London airports (Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted), Luton, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster, Exeter, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham.
Frequent services run throughout the busy April-October season.Â
The new brochure can be requested through
www.directtraveller.com / 0844 414 1684.
The meeting follows previous talks which took place 18th November of last year.
Over 210,000 Cypriots were displaced by inter-communal fighting in the 1960s and the Turkish invasion of 1974 in reaction to a military coup sponsored by Greece.
A resolution to the situation in Cyprus is also a feature of the accession of Turkey to being a full EU Member State.
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