CYPRUS: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on arrival in the Turkish capital yesterday that he was optimistic an agreement on the divided island of Cyprus could be reached before his own deadline of February 28th.
"I'm still hopeful and I think we can do it if the will is there," Mr Annan said at Ankara's Esenboga airport, referring to the proposed reunification agreement. He is due to discuss the Cyprus question with Turkish leaders today before travelling to Athens tomorrow and Nicosia on Wednesday.
"The European Union is due to meet for the signature of the treaty of accession of 10 new members including Cyprus [in April\]," he said. "I hope that the treaty will be signed on behalf of a united Cyprus. This is also the strong preference of the EU.
"For that to happen, the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots have to decide in separate simultaneous referendums on March 30th to approve a comprehensive settlement and bring about a new state of affairs," he said. "For this to happen, the leaders must come to terms in time for those referendums to go forward.
"My purpose here is therefore to discuss with the Turkish government, as I will do in Athens with the Greek authorities, how the two motherlands can rally in support of this last effort and assist the parties in coming to terms."
The UN is pressing for a reunification deal between the island's Greek and Turkish communities by February 28th, to allow a united Cyprus to sign an EU accession accord in April, in time to meet the island's 2004 planned entry date.
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have been deadlocked over the UN plan since mid-January.
Mr Annan has asked Greece and Turkey - Cyprus's guarantor states, along with former colonial power Britain - to begin talks on reunification plans, including provisions for both countries to maintain military forces on the island following a peace deal. - (AFP)