Turkey will continue to support Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on the Cyprus issue, a statement made on November 15 by Turkey Foreign Ministry.

The statement came after Denktash announced that he would attend "proximity talks" in New York, the United States, on December 3 with Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides.

The statement said Turkey completely supports and shares the sensitivities and position put forward by Denktash earlier in the day about indirect talks on Cyprus.

Turkey and Turkish Cypriot side "do have the constructive position and common views which are based on today's realities and the experiences in the past concerning the way for finding a just and lasting compromise on the island," said the statement.

It added that "it is clear that a new common life on the island can be possible only on the basis of sovereign equality. As a guarantor country and the motherland, Turkey will continue to give Mr. Rauf Denktash the powerful support within the framework support of our common views."

The state said Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side stressed that current atmosphere is not suitable for direct talks on Cyprus, adding that "the basis for negotiation should be prepared for a comprehensive initiative for a lasting solution through the talks with the mediator."

Cyprus has been divided into the Turkish Cypriots-controlled north and the Greek Cypriots-dominated south since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in the wake of a failed coup seeking union with Athens.

Direct negotiations between the two sides on the island have not been held in the past two years because of preconditions set by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side for the recognition of the breakaway republic in northern Cyprus.

In a statement issued Sunday in New York, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the acceptance by the two sides for the "proximity talks."