Cyprus talks fail

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders yesterday abandoned talks between themselves to reunite their Mediterranean island, opening the way for Greece and Turkey to try to hammer out a deal.

Feuding Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been meeting almost daily since February 19 to agree on a UN peace plan which aims to reunite Cyprus before it joins the European Union on May 1. But both sides have refused to budge on their key demands.

"At this phase of talks there has not been any significant progress, in any case not on issues of substance," Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos told Reuters after meeting Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and UN envoy Alvaro de Soto.

Four-way talks including officials from Athens and Ankara will now begin tomorrow at a Swiss resort on Lake Lucerne. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis are scheduled to join them on Sunday.

"The presence of Greece and Turkey will give more impetus to negotiations," said one Ankara-based EU diplomat.

Mr de Soto put a brave face on the lack of progress to date. "A lot more happened than meets the eye (in the bilateral talks), but not the give-and-take on core issues that we had hoped for," the Peruvian diplomat told reporters in Nicosia.

"I am quietly hopeful for the days ahead... (but) all will have to show the necessary political will," Mr de Soto added.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been mandated to fill in any unresolved issues on his power-sharing blueprint, which will be put to a referendum of both communities on April 20.