Turkish Cypriot Seeks EU Push For Cyprus Talks

Diplomats say that if the opposition wins the parliamentary polls, they could make it harder to broker a deal.

The Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said on Wednesday he had urged the EU to push Greek Cypriots to speed up reunification talks, saying support for the bloc on his side of the divided island was declining.

"The pace is too slow -- extremely slow," Talat said in Brussels. Delays could influence the outcome of forthcoming elections in Turkish Cyprus, further hampering talks.

Talat said Turkish Cypriots had been aiming to resolve outstanding issues by European Parliament elections in 2009. "But seemingly...according to the Greek Cypriot side, this is not achievable," he told a news briefing.

Leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities resumed talks in September to end a partition sealed in 1974 when Turkish troops invaded in response to coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece.

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said last month that talks could be concluded as soon as next year if Turkey adopted what he called a more constructive attitude and urged Talat to show more independence from Ankara -- the only capital that recognises the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.

Talat said he had asked European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in meetings on Tuesday to encourage the Greek Cypriots to engage more seriously in negotiations.

"Postponement is not acceptable to Turkish Cypriots...The elections in the north of course will be crucial," he said, referring to parliamentary and presidential polls in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

"The confidence of many Turkish Cypriots regarding the EU is declining and that...might directly affect the results of the elections."

Diplomats say that if the opposition wins the parliamentary polls, they could make it harder to broker a deal.

They say Talat's Republican Turkish Party is losing ground partly because of the stalemate over Cyprus and partly due to the state of the economy, which has faced faltering growth for some years, now exacerbated by the global economic downturn.

Both sides agree to a settlement based on a federation, but there are disagreements about how it would work and the degree of authority each side would have. Any deal will need to be approved by Cypriots in separate, simultaneous referendums.

Other outstanding issues include property rights, security guarantees, and the return of refugees.

Turkey started EU entry talks in 2005. Greek Cypriots represent Cyprus in Brussels and have right of veto over Turkey's EU entry.