CYPRUS: The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has ruled out major changes to the UN plan for the reunification of Cyprus if agreement is to be reached by May 1st, when the Mediterranean island is due to join the EU.
The Cypriot government said yesterday that a letter President Tassos Papadopoulos had received from Mr Annan made clear that both sides on the divided island must show commitment to the basic principles of his plan if negotiations were to resume.
If the island's Greek and Turkish communities do not agree terms by May 1st, only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot side will join, harming the EU bid of Turkey which is up for review in December 2004.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Rauf Denktash, previously an outright opponent of the UN plan, appeared to soften his position on Monday when he said efforts were under way to make the plan acceptable to his community.
The Greek Cypriots say they accept the plan as a basis for negotiations, and were unmoved by Mr Denktash's comments.
Mr Denktash yesterday approved a new coalition government for northern Cyprus headed by Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, who supports a speedy return to the stalled reunification talks.
Mr Denktash's son Serdar Denktash will be foreign minister and deputy prime minister in the new cabinet, whose formation followed weeks of haggling between supporters and opponents of a UN plan.
"I have approved the cabinet list and have appointed Mehmet Ali Talat as prime minister," the elder Mr Denktash told reporters at his residence in the northern half of Nicosia, Europe's last divided capital.
The Cypriot government spokesman, Mr Kypros Chrysostomides, said yesterday that the key issue was what the Turkish side would do if negotiations restarted.
"As things presently stand . . . I don't think the UN secretary-general will call for negotiations soon," Mr Chrysostomides told reporters.
He said Mr Annan's letter, a reply to one to him from Mr Papadopoulos, referred to a UN report of April 2003, in which Mr Annan called on the two sides to show commitment in finalising the plan within a time frame "without negotiating its basic principles or essential trade-offs", and put it to separate simultaneous referendums.
Greek Cypriots have made clear they are not prepared to setting a date for a referendum without the plan being completed first.
"How can a plan be put to referendum without it being ready yet?" Mr Papadopoulos asked reporters. - (Reuters)