Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Rauf Denktash today appeared to kill off hopes of an accord on a UN peace plan for the island.
Ankara and Mr Denktash poured cold water on the plan after a day of talks in the Turkish capital to agree a common position on the Mediterranean island's future, which could also determine Turkey's own prospects of joining the European Union.
Mr Denktash reiterated that he would reject the plan and seek broad changes to it when he meets UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Greek Cypriot leaders in The Netherlands on March 10th, in what was billed as a final chance to reach agreement.
He told the Turkish parliament the division of land proposed by the United Nations - reducing the amount of territory under Turkish Cypriot control - was "unbalanced and unjust".
UN officials say there is no further room for revision of the peace deal, which aims to prevent the European Union admitting a tense and divided island in 2004.
"In its current state, the Annan plan is far from meeting the expectations of the Turkish side," the Turkish presidential spokesman Tacan Ildem told a news conference after the talks.
He also said the question of holding referendums on the plan, a step Mr Annan wants, was something that the two sides of the island must address "through their own democratic and constitutional structures".
Mr Annan says that if his proposals are rejected, he will abandon attempts to forge a deal on the island, partitioned since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 in response to a coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece.
Turkey seized more than one-third of Cyprus, and repeated diplomatic efforts to reunite the island have failed.
The internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government is due to sign an accession treaty with the EU next month. Turkish Cyprus would be left outside without a deal and Turkey would be left in confrontation with the Union it wants to join.