Denktash Proposes Unification Timetable

12/02/2004| IslamWeb

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has proposed a tight new timetable aimed at breaking the deadlock in the Cyprus peace talks, which could see Turkey and Greece getting involved. He handed his proposal to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan during a second day of talks. It broadly incorporates proposals already made by Annan and includes a pledge to hold a referendum on a final agreement on April 21. The Greek Cypriots must now say whether they accept his plan. Denktash's plan reportedly envisages the Greek and Turkish Cypriots trying to agree on the details of a UN blueprint for peace. If they fail, the two patron nations - Greece and Turkey - would enter the fray and, in the final stage, Annan himself would step in. Cyprus joins the EU on May 1, but whether as a united island remains to be seen. Cyprus has been split along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the northern part of the island after a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by Greece. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.