The leaders of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus will meet this month and in July to assess whether direct peace talks can start soon, Cypriot president Demetris Christofias said today.
"We want to pass to this phase of our common efforts but we must not work for the sake only of these face-to-face negotiations. We have to prepare ourselves ... because if we fail this is a very, very serious failure," Mr Christofias said.
He was speaking at a think-tank discussion on the Cyprus reunification process in Brussels, before a summit of European Union leaders.
Mr Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have agreed to relaunch talks to end a decades-old conflict dividing the island and complicating Turkey's prospect of joining the EU.
Early expectations that the peace talks could start in June have dissipated as differences emerged in preparatory talks.
However, a source close to consultations in Cyprus said small confidence building measures relating to health, environmental protection, protection of the island's cultural heritage and road safety could be announced by the two sides as early as tomorrow. At present, cooperation is minimal.
Nominally, both sides support reunification as a bizonal, bicommunal federation but there are deep-rooted disagreements on how it will work in practice.
The United Nations, which oversees consultations, said it was encouraged by commitment for a deal but said it required hard work.
"Compromises will have to be made...There will be problems along the way, some of them serious. That is precisely why there is a peace process," said Taye-Brook Zerihoun, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. He was speaking at a UN event in Nicosia, the island's divided capital.
The Mediterranean island was partitioned after a Turkish invasion in 1974 in response to a brief Greek-inspired coup. The Greek Cypriot-led south represents the island in the EU and north Cyprus is a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.
Mr Christofias said Turkey still wanted a solution that would include a separate state in northern Cyprus.
"Unfortunately, we are dependent on the will of Turkey," he said. "If we are free to negotiate, I could be optimistic that soon we could solve the problem."
Mr Christofias said a halving by Turkey of its military presence in Cyprus - which he said numbered 43,000 troops - would be a signal of goodwill.
He also said he was concerned that attempts by a Turkish state prosecutor to outlaw Turkey's ruling AK Party for alleged Islamist activities could hurt the Cyprus peace process. Many observers fear the case undermines Turkey's fragile democracy and could bolster the military's influence.
"This will be a very important step backwards for the people of Turkey and the accession process," Mr Christofias said.
Reuters