Cyprus peace deal possible within months, negotiator says

A solution to the Cyprus problem is possible within months, the Turkish Cypriot chief negotiator in UN-brokered talks that resumed this week on reunifying the island said on Saturday.

"It?s always very dangerous to talk about time frames, however everybody agrees that with the required political will, technically it is possible to solve the Cyprus issue in a matter of months and not years," said Ozdil Nami.

Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci on Friday resumed talks that had been stalled since October.

They agreed to meet twice a month to push for a solution to reunite the eastern Mediterranean island, with Anastasiades saying he has "high hopes" for the future and Akinci equally optimistic.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the island?s northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union for Greece.

Nami said that decades on, "there is a feeling that this is a final push to find a solution".

The Turkish Cypriot negotiator described Anastasiades and Akinci as "the right people to deliver" a solution.

But he warned they must act quickly on the positive momentum that emerged from Friday?s talks.

"You can?t sustain that positive mood in the public opinion for long. You are obliged to deliver positive results rapidly," he said.

"Everybody is aware that now that the Cyprus issue has been on the UN agenda for more than half a century. There is a feeling of being fed up with it.

After Friday?s talks Akinci tweeted his optimism saying, "if we find the way out until the end of this year, everyone will be happy."

The aim of Friday?s meeting, held in the presence of UN special envoy Espen Barthe Eide, was...