Greek Cypriots Ready for New UN-Sponsored Talks

The Greek Cypriot government is ready for a renewal of UN-brokered peace aimed at resolving the Cyprus issue, President Tassos Papadopoulos said Tuesday (25 January). However, he added, the EU should be involved in the process.
"We continue to be ready and willing for a resumption of talks always under UN auspices, and we seek more active engagement and contribution on behalf of the EU," the Greek Cypriot leader told reporters at the Larnaca airport before flying to Athens for talks with top officials and politicians there. "We are in continual consultation with the Greek government and we often meet to co-ordinate and evaluate anticipated developments and possibilities," he said.
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkey deployed thousands of troops there following an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the island with Greece. A number of international initiatives to reunite the island have been launched since then, but all have failed to lead to an agreement.
During simultaneous referenda last April, Greek Cypriots rejected and Turkish Cypriots approved a reunification plan sponsored by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. As a result, only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot part of the island joined the EU on 1 May.
Following his meeting with Papadopoulos, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said they had discussed a common strategy for finding an "operational and viable solution to the Cyprus problem that will be based on the Annan plan and on the positions recently adopted by Cyprus". The talks, he added, focused on specific parts of the peace plan that both Athens and Nicosia want to see amended.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been quoted as saying that Annan would agree to a resumption of the peace talks only when he is convinced both sides are ready for a solution.
Reports earlier this month said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to meet with the UN chief as soon as possible to discuss ways of resolving the Cyprus issue.
"We want to meet with him at the first opportunity," the Turkish leader was quoted as saying.
In December, the EU approved the launch of Turkey's accession talks on 3 October, provided Ankara extends a 1963 association agreement with the EU's predecessor, the European Economic Council, to include all current member states, including the Greek Cypriot state, which is not recognised by Ankara.
In a separate development, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat is scheduled to meet Solana, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and other EU officials in Brussels on Wednesday. The Cyprus issue is expected to be the main subject of discussion.