Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides has welcomed a Commonwealth communiqu¨¦, in which the Commonwealth rejected the Turkish Cypriot side's demand for recognition of its breakaway regime in the north.

Clerides voiced his appreciation in South Africa before leaving for Istanbul Monday night to attend a summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe there on Thursday and Friday.

Local mass media reported on Tuesday that the Commonwealth leaders in a final communiqu¨¦ issued after their meeting in Durban, South Africa, urged the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions that calls for direct talks between the two rival sides on the island based on a bi-communal federation formula.

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.

The leaders also called for the withdrawal of Turkish troops and settlers from the island, the return of refugees to their homes and an account of missing persons.

"I am pleased the Cyprus extract notes that the solution of the Cyprus question should include the return of the refugees to their homes and the accounting for all missing persons," Clerides said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent an invitation to the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides for "proximity talks" in New York on December 3, for a comprehensive settlement on the Cyprus issue.

Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash have accepted the invitation.