BRUSSELS
Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir on Wednesday welcomed the "highly positive" steps in negotiations over the divided island of Cyprus.
Speaking to reporters at the European Commission in Brussels, Bozkir said: "Both the European Commission and the European Parliament see the steps taken to reach a solution over the Cyprus issue as highly positive.
"The Turkish Cypriot president’s visits to both Brussels and Strasbourg were completed with good impressions."
Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades resumed talks on reunifying the island following Akinci’s election in April. Negotiations were resumed following a two-year hiatus in February 2013 but stalled in October last year in a row over mineral exploration.
The Cyprus issue remains a major political obstacle to Turkey's accession to the EU.
Last week Akinci said during a visit to Brussels that he believed the talks could be successfully concluded in a "matter of months".
