U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (2nd R) speaks to the media as Cypriot President and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades (R) and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu (3rd R) look on, in the UN-controlled buffer zone splitting the island and its capital Nicosia May 22, 2014. Biden said on Thursday he was optimistic Cypriots could overcome their differences on the ethnically-split island, saying it was well placed to becoming a key player in the energy market. Biden, the most senior U.S. official to visit the east Mediterranean island in more than half a century, said the United States stood prepared to provide assistance in helping Cypriots heal one of the oldest and most intractable conflicts in Europe. REUTERS/Stringer (CYPRUS – Tags: POLITICS)