Cyprus peace talks can't go on forever: Turkish CypriotTurkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat Mehmet Ali Talat (born July 6, 1952) is the current President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (or KKTC in Turkish), which controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, but is unrecognized by any nation except Turkey. warned Friday that peace talks to end the 35-year division of Cyprus could not drag on Verb 1. drag on - last unnecessarily long drag out last, endure - persist for a specified period of time; "The bad weather lasted for three days" 2. indefinitely without a timetable. "We do need a timetable. Negotiations cannot go forever, not even for too long because this will lead to deadlocks that cannot be overcome," Talat told a press conference after talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul gul n. A stylized octagonal motif in Oriental rugs. [Persian, rose; see julep.] . UN-brokered negotiations between Talat and Cyprus President Demetris Christofias began in September 2008, but progress has been slow. The two sides remain deeply divided on issues of security, property and land swaps. The Turkish Cypriots Ethnically Turkish inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus are referred to as Turkish Cypriots. The term is sometimes used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, as opposed to the Turkish migrants who have settled there since the Cyprus conflict of 1974. , backed by Ankara, have called for a settlement by the the end of the year or early 2010, but Talat said that "the Greek Cypriots are categorically against a timetable". The Turkish Cypriots and Ankara worry that the Greek Cypriots are deliberately protracting the talks and accuse them of impeding progress in Turkey's European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community membership bid in order to extract concessions on the Cyprus conflict. A UN effort to reunify re·u·ni·fy tr.v. re·u·ni·fied, re·u·ni·fy·ing, re·u·ni·fies To cause (a group, party, state, or sect) to become unified again after being divided. the island failed in 2004 when Greek Cypriots voted down the settlement blueprint even though Turkish Cypriots gave it strong support. The Turkish Cypriots are bitter that the Greek Cypriots, whose government is the island's internationally recognised administration, were admitted into the EU that year despite rejecting reunification re·u·ni·fy tr.v. re·u·ni·fied, re·u·ni·fy·ing, re·u·ni·fies To cause (a group, party, state, or sect) to become unified again after being divided. , while they were left out in the cold. Turkey refuses to allow Greek Cypriots to use its air and sea ports under a trade pact with the EU, insisting the bloc should fulfill promises to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Talat also urged UN mediators for a "more active participation" in the negotiations, complaining that they were failing to intervene when rival Greek Cypriots "go beyond the parameters" set for a settlement. He said his Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC TRNC Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus ), recognised only by Turkey, "is not without alternatives if the negotiation process collapses." He did not elaborate, stressing that "we are now fully focused on a solution and want to do our best for a solution." Speaking on the NTV NTV Nippon Television Network Corporation (Japan) nTV National Television NTV Nepal Television NTV Newfoundland Television NTV Non-Tactical Vehicle NTV Nerve Tissue Vaccine NTV Notice to Vacate news channel earlier, Talat said a major point of contention was the conflicting visions the two sides had on the structure of the "bi-communal federation" that Cyprus is to become in case of a settlement. The Greek Cypriots, he charged, "have gone beyond parameters set by the UN, making a different interpretation of bi-zonality". He said he expected Western powers and the UN to make a push to speed up the talks at the end of the year. "Towards December, when they see that time is running out, I expect Western countries, the Americans, the United Nations to undertake certain initiatives," he told NTV. Talat urged the United States in particular to assume an active role in settlement efforts. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the Turkish Cypriot north in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece. 
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