Denktash willing to discuss UN plan to reunite Cyprus

Hopes for a peace deal to reunite Cyprus before its entry into the European Union in May were boosted yesterday when Rauf Denktash, the hardline Turkish Cypriot leader, eased his outright opposition and reopened the door to talks.

Mr Denktash said that the United Nations' plan was "still on the table", as negotiators hammered out the details of a new coalition government for the breakaway "republic" in the north, recognised only by Turkey.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 and is the scene of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping operation.

Mr Denktash, who has led the north in two decades of negotiations, had previously dismissed the UN blueprint, saying that it was unacceptable as it would lead to the dominance of the wealthier and bigger Greek-Cypriot community.

Elections in the Turkish-recognised "republic" last month left pro-EU parties deadlocked with their isolationist opponents, with each side gaining half of the 50 seats in parliament.

The new administration leaves Mehmet Ali Talat's Republican Turkish Party, which backs the UN plan, in an uncomfortable coalition with the Democrat Party, led by Mr Denktash's son, Serdar, who supports a similarly hardline approach to his father.

The coalition is expected to look to Ankara for guidance, with diplomats counting on Turkey to push for concessions in order to put their own bid for EU membership back on track with a quick breakthrough to reunite the Mediterranean island.

The UN proposals call for a bi-communal federation to enter the EU, while opponents favour an official recognition of the current two-state solution. If no deal can be reached by the spring deadline, only the Greek-Cypriot south will join the 25-nation bloc. The odds are still stacked against a swift resolution to Europe's longest-running crisis but Denktash Snr's comments have given fresh impetus to the process previously seen as stalled.

"One might say, 'the Annan Plan [drafted by the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan] is still on the table'," he said on his return to Cyprus after talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister.

In characteristic style, the veteran negotiator warned that many obstacles remain before the plan could be accepted.

He said: "The work on this is preliminary and efforts are continuing on trying to bring the Annan Plan into an acceptable state. In the Annan Plan, there are subjects which we fear and have reservations about. It has holes, obstacles and traps. That is how we see it."

Turkey is facing mounting pressure from the United States, the UN and the European leaders to end the division and avoid an embarrassing situation in which Turkish troops would, in effect, be occupying European Union soil.

Ankara's stance is unclear and recent criticism of Rauf Denktash's intransigence on the peace plan was followed by a declaration of support for his continued status as the Turkish Cypriots' official negotiator.

Mr Erdogan and Rauf Denktash smoothed over any remaining divisions on Sunday, saying they were agreed on the way forward.

Cemil Cicek, Turkey's government spokesman, expressed hope that a solution could be found by May. "The process [towards a solution] has begun with good will," he said.