United Nations envoy Alvaro de Soto expressed hope Saturday of a new round of peace talks on the divided island of Cyprus despite threats by Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to boycott the negotiations.
In comments to reporters after meeting a senior Turkish diplomat, de Soto said he was hopeful that the UN-sponsored indirect talks between Denktash and Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides will continue, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The sixth round of negotiations, scheduled for late January, was thrown into doubt last week when Denktash called the process a "waste of time" and said he would pull out if the United Nations did not acknowledge his breakaway state in the northern third of the Mediterranean island.
His stance received full support from Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.
De Soto recalled that neither Denktash nor Clerides had yet replied to Annan's invitation for the next round of talks, and said he would discuss future talks with the Turkish Cypriot leader during a visit to the island on December 4 and 5.
Meanwhile, a senior Turkish Cypriot official told the Turkish Cypriot TAK news agency Saturday that the door to a new round of talks was not closed altogether.
"The indirect talks are over. A sixth round is out of the question. But we are ready to take our place if there is a state-to-state process," said Tahsin Ertugruloglu, the foreign affairs and defense minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The TRNC and Turkey, the only country to recognize it, insist that the reunification of Cyprus go through a two-state confederation.
The internationally-recognized Greek Cyprus, and the international community, meanwhile, favor a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia seeking to unite the island with Greece.
The Cyprus conflict has also strained ties between the European Union and Turkey after an EU-penned reform program for Turkey urged Ankara to back UN efforts for a settlement as a short-time objective in its accession process.
Turkey has threatened to "revise" relations with the EU if its accession process is tied to a settlement of Cyprus' division and territorial disputes with EU member Greece – ANKARA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
