Premiers of Turkey, TRNC meet in Ankara

By Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) - Prime Minister Binali Yildirim met his Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus counterpart Tufan Erhurman in capital Ankara on Wednesday.

Yildirim welcomed Erhurman with an official ceremony at the Cankaya Palace.

The two premiers are expected to discuss further developing the close cooperation between the two sides as well as the Cyprus issue during their meeting.

The Turkish prime minister will later host a dinner in honor of Erhurman.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks, and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including the latest initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the U.K. collapsing in 2017.

Turkey blames Greek Cypriot intransigence for the talks' failure, also faulting the European Union for admitting Cyprus as a divided island into the union in 2004 after Greek Cypriot voters rejected a peace deal.