Breakthrough UN deal sealed on Cyprus talks

The way was cleared for a new round of unity negotiations in three grueling days of preliminary talks in New York.

There, Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on Friday accepted UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan for sealing a reunification deal for the Mediterranean island split into ethnic Greek and Turkish enclaves since a 1974 invasion of the north by Turkey.

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"A lot of hard work is still needed and there are still tough questions ahead, but if all concerned show the same courage and goodwill during the next three months that they have shown in the last three days, I believe there is now a real chance that before the first of May, Cyprus will be reunited," Annan told a news conference.

The UN leader's blueprint for a Cypriot state, which will serve as the basis for the negotiations in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, foresees a weak central government over a federation of two ethnic zones.

The negotiations on the blueprint details are due to open on Thursday in Nicosia with veteran UN envoy Alvaro de Soto presiding over direct talks between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides.

De Soto plans to stop off in Brussels on the way to the divided Mediterranean island, "to make sure that the collaboration continues" with the European Union in the negotiation process.

The UN agreement marked a crucial breakthrough in a diplomatic impasse that has resisted resolution during three decades of international diplomacy. A UN peacekeeping force, which monitors the border between the two sides, has been in place in Cyprus since 1964.

While past reunification efforts failed, this one was seen as succeeding due to the looming May 1 EU entry date.

Without a settlement, Cyprus would enter the bloc as a divided island and be represented only by the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government, deepening the Turkish Cypriots' isolation and undermining Turkey's own bid to open entry talks with the EU in early 2005.

World governments were unanimous in praising the UN agreement.

"There is no place for barbed wire, mine fields and peacekeeping forces in the European Union," said European Commission President Romano Prodi, predicting the odds for a comprehensive settlement "have never been better."

Because the two sides are expected to disagree over many of the reunification plan details, Annan persuaded the two sides to let him fill in the blanks if they deadlock.