Rival leaders of divided Cyprus launched reunification talks today to end a decades-old conflict threatening Turkey's EU membership hopes.

Cypriot President Demetrios Christofias, representing the Greek Cypriot community, and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mehmet Ali Talat arrived in the no man's land dividing their capital Nicosia for what diplomats and analysts say is the best chance of a breakthrough after years of failed mediation.

"We must, at long last, put an end to the suffering of our people and reunite our country," Christofias told reporters as he headed for the meeting.

His presidential election victory in February over Tassos Papadopoulos, who led Greek Cypriots in rejecting a U.N. reunification plan in 2004, marked a turning point in the dispute that has frustrated mediators for decades.

"This is a historic day, a beautiful day," said Ozdil Nami, chief aide to Talat. "Both leaders will be sending a message of hope to their people ... to the world, that they are willing to negotiate."

The two moderate leaders met in the presence of former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, appointed U.N. special envoy for Cyprus in July, at a compound which was once the island's main commercial airport.

When talks start in earnest next week, they will move to a renovated complex of low-lying buildings once used as arrival and departure terminals. Bearing witness to past violence, the bullet-riddled shell of an old jet sits on a nearby runway overgrown with weeds.

Divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup, the two sides have agreed to reunite as a bizonal bicommunal federation -- but not on how. A key dispute is the unrecognised status of breakaway northern Cyprus, and how to reintegrate it in a federation.

Peace talks in 2003 and 2004 failed when Greek Cypriots rejected the U.N. blueprint accepted by Turkish Cypriots.

There has been a shift in sentiment since then. The passage of time is making a settlement more complex, while the partitioned status of Cyprus is a headache for the European Union.

Cyprus, effectively represented in the bloc by its Greek Cypriots, has veto rights over the membership bid of Turkey, a key western ally in the volatile Middle East.

"It is widely believed that if these two moderates can't solve it, nobody can," said Hubert Faustmann, a Cyprus-based analyst.