Turkije benoemt bemiddelaar in kwestie-Cyprus (en)

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the appointment of a mediator to help make progress in the talks aimed at reuniting the divided island of Cyprus.

After talks with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Erdogan said that "Turkey will fulfill all its responsibilities to this end. We want this process to come to an end by May 1, 2004", he said, quoted by Anadolu Agency.

In what is seen as a breakthrough in the stalled talks, the Turkish military has said it was prepared to accept the UN plan as a basis for negotiations.

Turkey is being pressed to reach a solution on the division of Cyprus before the island joins the EU next May, as otherwise it is likely to prove politically difficult for Turkey to get a date to start accession negotiations with the EU.

However, speaking on Saturday, Mr Erdogan said that "the Cyprus issue is neither a pre-condition for Turkey's European Union membership process nor a part of the Copenhagen political criteria. I can define it as a de facto situation".

Although Turkey is expressing a willingness to move the talks forward, Greece has expressed reservations about Turkey's will to make progress, and is waiting first to see Turkey take action in this direction, the Athens News Agency said.

The Cyprus issue was discussed yesterday by Greek Foreign minister George Papandreou and EU foreign policy Chief Javier Solana over the phone, and it may also be raised today in Brussels during an a meeting of EU foreign ministers.