Kofi Annan bemiddelt om einde aan deling van Cyprus te maken (en)

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the two Cypriot leaders Tassos Papadopoulos and Rauf Denktash meet today in New York to mark the resumption of the talks to reunite the island.

UN mediated talks ended last year after the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash rejected the UN plan, but pressure to end the 30-year-old division is mounting as Cyprus will join the EU on 1 May.

Mr Annan wants to see an agreement between the two sides by the end of March, so that the two communities can put the plan to a referendum on 21 April.

The UN Secretary General will meet Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash separately prior to a joint meeting this afternoon in New York.

Accompanying Rauf Denktash will be the recently elected Prime Minister of the breakaway Turkish-Cypriot state Mehmet Ali Talat, who is strongly in favour of a settlement.

Although Turkey had asked Mr Annan to nominate a new mediator, it will still be Alvaro de Soto who will restart the talks today and tomorrow as well as when they are expected to continue in Cyprus from 16 February, Kathimerini reported.