Rare tension crackled on today between veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and his patron Turkey over how to tackle the division of Cyprus following an inconclusive Turkish Cypriot election.
Turkey and Denktash are under heavy international pressure to resume stalled talks on a blueprint proposed last year by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, which envisages Cyprus joining the European Union next May as a reunited island.
But the Turkish Cypriot general election on December 14 returned a parliament split 50-50 between supporters of the Annan plan and those who back Denktash's rejection of it.
Denktash reacted angrily today to what he clearly saw as criticism from Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed impatience with Denktash and his advisers over their inflexibility, according to the Anatolian news agency.
"They do not bring any different views (on the problem)," Erdogan was quoted as saying Thursday evening during a trip to the ex-Soviet republic of Uzbekistan.
"In my view it is wrong to say the Annan plan is completely bad for northern Cyprus," he said, making clear Turkey saw the blueprint as a basis for more talks.
Denktash was clearly rattled by the implied criticism from Turkey, the only country to recognize his 'statelet' of 200,000, which depends on Ankara for economic aid and plays host to an estimated 30,000 Turkish troops. Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the north in response to a brief coup backed by the military junta then ruling Greece.