Cypriot leaders in New York for UN-hosted talks

CYPRUS: The president of Cyprus, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, arrive in New York today ahead of tomorrow's resumption of UN-brokered negotiations aimed at reuniting the island ahead of its entry into the European Union on May 1st.

Mr Papadopoulos held consultations with the Greek government en route to the US, while Mr Denktash was visiting Ankara when he received the invitation issued last week by the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, to resume talks on the basis of his plan for reunification in a bizonal, bicommunal federation.

Although both sides have reservations as to the substance of the plan, as well the timetable for reaching a settlement, Mr Denktash expressed strong objections to the invitation, calling it an "imposition" and "cruel". He stated, "We're going to a one-day meeting in New York. This does not mean that negotiations will have begun. This is a preliminary meeting that will determine whether or not negotiations can begin. I will be giving Mr Kofi Annan a letter outlining our objections." His objections shared by hardliners in Ankara.

Negotiations were suspended last March when Mr Denktash rejected the Annan plan as "unacceptable". Analysts suggest that if Mr Denktash sticks to this line, Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot prime minister, who is also in New York, could take over. He and a majority of Turkish Cypriots favour a solution, as does Turkey's Justice and Development Party government which, asserted its foreign minister, Mr Abdullah Gul, intends "to finish everything by May."

If negotiations resume, the parties will shift to Nicosia, where they must conclude an agreement by March 25th. Mr Annan will have until the end of the month to find solutions for any unresolved issues before presenting the finished text to the guarantor powers - Greece, Turkey and Britain - which must decide by April 10th whether they will recognise the outcome of separate referendums set for April 21st. If the accord is approved by both communities, a federal state will be proclaimed simultaneously in Nicosia and at UN headquarters before Cyprus enters the EU.

If this last-ditch effort to reunite the island fails, Cyprus will join the EU but the body of Union law will not be applied to the north, occupied by Turkey in 1974, since it will remain outside government control.