[Visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond gestures during a news conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Manila]British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond said on Thursday he was optimistic Cyprus was nearing a "breakthrough" in resolving its four-decade-old partition. Cyprus was split in a 1974 Turkish invasion triggered by a brief Greek inspired coup. New impetus was given to the island's on-off peace process by the election of moderate Mustafa Akinci as Turkish Cypriot leader last May. "I've made several visits to Cyprus over the last few months, meeting members of both communities, and I am optimistic that we may be on the brink of a breakthrough in resolving this dispute," Hammond told reporters in Athens.
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