Annan Arrives in Cyprus for Protracted Unity Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Annan Arrives in Cyprus for Protracted Unity Talks

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Nicosia Tuesday afternoon for a "working visit" in the framework of the good offices mission entrusted to him by the Security Council.

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United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Nicosia Tuesday afternoon for a "working visit" in the framework of the good offices mission entrusted to him by the Security Council.

Annan will meet on Wednesday with Cyprus' President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash respectively.

Upon his arrival, Annan expressed his concern over the slow progress of talks to reunite the divided island and called on the two sides to forge ahead with a sense of urgency.

This is the first time that a U.N. Secretary General in office visits Cyprus since 1979, when then U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim oversaw high-level agreements between the two sides

Cyprus has been divided into the Greek Cypriots-dominated south and the Turkish Cypriots-controlled north since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the Mediterranean island after a failed pro-Athens coup.

Clerides and Denktash have been engaged in U.N.-sponsored direct talks since January 16 with a view to negotiating in good faith until a settlement is reached on the protracted Cyprus issue. So far nothing has emerged from the talks to show some hopeful signs for progress.

The Cyprus government has warned of possible deadlock in the negotiations, and Denktash on Monday also said in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, that chances for reaching a settlement by June were slim.

June has been agreed as a deadline for the negotiation, which would give time to a settlement to be worked out before the European Union (EU) to take decision on the island's accession. Cyprus is a front-runner for EU membership.

Annan's visit is seen as a last attempt by the international community to inject some impetus into the flagging unity talks.

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