Q: Sir, are the talks going to continue if Cyprus joins the European Union?

SG: We are going to meet with the two leaders this morning. And I hope that we, first of all, I'm going to assess what progress has been made since we last met in Paris , and what we need to do to accelerate the process. We're going to try and do as much as we can to come to an understanding and bring the talks to closure, at least come to agreement on the core issues by the end of the year. That is the target. If we miss that, obviously, we will have to find ways of bringing it to closure beyond that date. But I hope we can do it before the end of the year.

Q: Is there any new element or tactic that you plan to bring up in the Cyprus talks today to move things forward?

SG: They may have some tactics and surprises for me. [Laughter.]

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