Emine Çolak

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu will visit northern Cyprus on Nov. 26 in his first abroad trip since resuming his position after a three-month break, the ministry said in a written statement on Nov. 25. 

The visit comes on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's scheduled trip to the island in a bid to show Washington's support for the ongoing peace talks.  

Now is the right time for Greek and Turkish Cypriots to do a deal to reunify their partitioned island, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Nov. 19 after meeting with the heads of the two communities. 

Cyprus is closer than ever to ending a four-decade partition, and its Turkish and Greek sides could agree to the text of a deal by May followed by a referendum, a Turkish Cypriot official has said.

Kudret Özersay is a former Turkish Cypriot negotiator. He held the title of chief negotiator until last October when he was removed from duty after he announced he would run as a candidate in April?s presidential elections. Özersay, who had been involved in the negotiations since 2003, was replaced by Özdil Nami after Mustafa Ak?nc? won in the April elections.

Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Ak?nc? has approved a new coalition government cabinet under Prime Minister Ömer Kalyoncu.

The move comes after former Prime Minister Ozkan Yorganc?o?lu stepped down on July 4 after losing a party leadership vote in June.