Kofi Annan geeft startsein tot nieuwe onderhandelingen voor hereniging Cyprus (en)

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said that talks to re-unite Cyprus could resume soon as pressure mounts for a solution before the island becomes an EU member this May.

"Everyone seems ready to resume" talks, Mr Annan said, who recently held discussions with Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.

The announcement came after a meeting with US President George Bush in Washington on Tuesday.

"President Bush supports my efforts and would like to see the talks resume, and supports the plan we've put on the table and urges the parties to press ahead and negotiate and find a settlement on the basis of that", Mr Annan said.

However, Mr Annan has not yet held discussions with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, who is blamed for the failure of last year's talks.

Pressure from Turkey and the new Northern Cypriot government seemed to have softened Mr Denktash's position - he now says he is supporting the talks although he was not confident that they could be concluded by 1 May.

Although Kofi Annan's wish is that the two Cypriot communities hold referendums on the re-unification plan by 1 May, even if there is no agreement, none of the main parties have yet agreed to this proposal.

Two weeks ago, Turkey urged Mr Annan to re-launch talks on a peace plan aimed at finding a solution to the divided island.

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