Nicosia - The President of the European Parliament, Ms Nicole Fontaine, has promised there can be no EU enlargement in 2004 without the accession of Cyprus, writes Michael Jansen.
Her remarks came as the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders prepare to meet next month to discuss a resumption of negotiations.
In Ankara, the Turkish Daily News yesterday released the text of a letter sent by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, to the UN in which he insisted that a settlement must be based on a confederation of two equal, sovereign states with close ties to their respective motherlands.
Ms Fontaine said a solution will not "serve as a condition for accession". If the Turkish parliament remains committed to current policy, it could put Turkey on a collision course with the EU because Ankara has threatened to annex northern Cyprus if the republic joins the EU prior to a settlement.