NICOSIA (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday leaders of divided Cyprus must make more effort if a peace deal is to be successfully concluded and that both had pledged to work on a deal as soon as possible.

The United Nations has been trying inconclusively for years to end decades of conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots which has impeded Turkey’s ambition to join the European Union, where Greek Cypriots represent Cyprus in the bloc.

“We will need even more courage and determination in the period ahead to bring these talks to a successful conclusion,” Ban told a news conference at a U.N. compound in Nicosia, the island’s capital.

Flanked by Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, Ban said, “I’m encouraged that the two leaders personally assured me of their shared commitment for a comprehensive solution as early as possible.”

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Britain has offered to hand over almost half of its sovereign territory in Cyprus to facilitate a peace deal between the island’s estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The offer is similar to one made by the former colonial power in 2003 and would be conditional on a peace deal between the two sides. Britain has a strategically-located air base on the Mediterranean island, which would not be part of any deal.

“The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, has just been informed that the United Kingdom is renewing an offer to the United Nations to cede a portion of its territory in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) to a reunified Cyprus,” the U.N. said in a statement.

British officials had no immediate comment on the statement.