PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN CYPRUS

That this House congratulates all those involved in the work that has been invested in the Cyprus talks between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci since May 2015; recognises that the UN-sponsored talks have intensified and reached a crucial stage; realises that many Cypriots have fled to the UK from Cyprus over the last 60 years; welcomes the co-operation since the Green Line restrictions were lifted in 2003, evidenced by the work of the Committee on Missing Persons, the Stelios Awards, business and union co-operation at lever level, the Home for Co-operation and the Cyprus Community Media Centre; looks forward to a Cyprus breakthrough with the support of the Government and the Turkish and Greek governments; hopes that the recent failed coup in Turkey and any deterioration in EU-Turkey relations will act as a spur rather than a deterrent to a negotiated settlement which will deliver a reunited, free and democratic Cyprus for all Cypriots in the interests of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Turkey, Greece, the EU and the UN in what is a turbulent region of the world; and calls on the Government to continue to support such an outcome.