NICOSIA, Cyprus, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A record 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots favor a two-state system rather than reunification for the island nation, a recent series of polls and studies found.
The findings -- which resulted from a series of recent polls and studies conducted by Cyprus Social Research and Educational Consultancy Center -- show changing attitudes among Turkish Cypriots on the decades-old Cyprus issue, Today's Zaman reported.
In 2004, a majority of the island's Turkish population voted for a referendum that supported reunification of the Greek and Turkish sections. The referendum failed when Greek Cypriots rejected it.
The European Union proposed direct trade with the Turkish Cypriots soon after the referendum, but that has been blocked by the Greek Cypriots, the newspaper said. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed a resolution calling for easing isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, but the resolution has not been passed.
Based on data from recent polls, there has been an improvement in some economic indicators, but not in public services. Up to 15 percent of the population is becoming poorer, due to disproportionate income distribution, the poll showed.
