Annan pushes to revive drive to unite Cyprus

United Nations, May 24 : Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders must renew contacts to revive a long-fruitless search for a way to reunite their Mediterranean island, U N Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.

In the absence of a plan acceptable to both sides, a U N peacekeeping force on Cyprus ''continues to be necessary,'' Annan said yesterday in his latest status report to the Security Council on the decades-long impasse.

The report was released after a strong performance in Sunday's parliamentary election of the party of Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos, who spurned recent U N attempts to revive unification talks.

Analysts and diplomats said the result was not a good omen for reuniting Cyprus or Turkey's hopes for accession to the European Union.

The island has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and Greek Cypriot south since Turkish troops invaded the north in 1974 to foil an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the island with Greece.

The government in the south is internationally recognized and a member of the European Union while only Turkey recognizes the northern government.

U N peacekeepers have been in Cyprus since 1964, with 930 troops and police now patrolling the 180 km ''green line'' separating the north and south. The mission's mandate is due to expire June 15 and Annan recommended a six-month extension, until December. 15.

''At this juncture, it is important for the parties to resume contacts and to begin to think about how to re-engage in the search for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem,'' Annan said.

He plans to send his special representative, Michael Moller, to Cyprus, Greece and Turkey to assess the prospects for a resumption of U N -backed unification efforts, he said.

U N unification efforts have floundered since 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a peace plan drafted by Annan while Turkish Cypriots voted to accept the plan.

Turkey in March rejected Moller's request for a visit, saying it feared he was biased in favor of the Greek Cypriots.

Reuters