Turkije dringt aan op overleg hereniging Cyprus (en)

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said talks on the reunification of Cyprus will resume once a new government in the Turkish Cypriot side has been formed.

Mr Erdogan said a road map for Cyprus will soon be announced although he did not go into the detail of its content.

"It will be useful to start initiatives for the revival of peace talks" (between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities) once a new government is formed in the north, a statement from Mr Erdogan's office said.

The leader of the pro-EU Republican Turkish Party Mehmet Ali Talat has until Monday to form a new government in the Turkish Cypriot part, or else new elections could be called, the BBC reports.

The elections on 14 December ended in a deadlock as the parliament was evenly split between parties favouring and opposing a UN proposed plan to reunify the divided island.

Mr Talat is currently negotiating with Serdar Denktash, son of Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, to join the coalition government with parties backing the UN plan for the reunification of Cyprus.

But Serdar Denktash's Democratic Party is already suggesting changes to the UN plan.

His father rejected the UN plan last year and is now rejecting it as a basis for negotiation.

Failure to reunite Cyprus before May, when the country joins the EU would mean little chance of Turkey getting a date at the end of this year to start accession negotiations with the EU.