Clinton urges Cyprus solution 'as soon as possible'

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Saturday for a speedy solution to Cyprus' long-standing division. "We don't think the status quo in Cyprus benefits anyone," Clinton said at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul. "We want to see a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and we would like to see it as soon as possible," she said. UN chief Ban Ki-moon last week set an October target for Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu to secure a broad accord to end their island's 37-year division. UN-sponsored peace talks between Cyprus' Greek and Turkish communities have been under way since September 2008 without any tangible progress. The conflict remains a major stumbling block in Turkey's struggling bid to join the European Union, which the United States has long supported. Ankara has called for settlement by early next year to ensure that Cyprus takes over the EU presidency as a united island in July 2012, warning that otherwise its relations with the Union will hit "freezing point." Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at union with Greece.