Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos will meet United Nations (UN) chief Kofi Annan in Paris today in a bid to lay the groundwork for an eventual resumption of peace negotiations on the divided island.
With efforts to resolve three decades of division on Cyprus since Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification plan in a 2004 referendum, all sides are warning against expecting any major breakthrough.
Papadopoulos, who requested the Annan meeting, has come under fire from critics for allegedly not doing enough to push the process forward.
Papadopoulos said talks would focus on preparing the ground for a negotiation process to be launched. He would ask Annan to send an envoy to facilitate resumption of negotiations.
“Negotiations should be well prepared and we request that the secretary-general appoints a representative to start those preparations.”

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President Tassos Papadopoulos of Cyprus agreed in Paris today that demilitarization, de-mining and technical talks on a range of issues would greatly improve the atmosphere for talks on reuniting the island.
“They agreed that the resumption of the negotiating process, within the framework of the Secretary-General’s Good Offices, must be timely and based on careful preparation,” a UN spokespersonsaid today.
The spokesperson said that they also agreed to continue their dialogue in order to accelerate the search for a fair solution to the problem, and Mr. Annan noted that he had received assurances from the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mehmet Ali Talat, that he shared the same aspirations.
In January, in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Annan met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to review the latter’s proposal for ending the long stalemate.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has been operating since 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities and one of its roles is to monitor ceasefire lines that extend some 180 kilometres across the island.
In December, the Security Council extended UNFICYP’s mandate until the middle of June, following Mr. Annan’s report on the country that noted the situation in Cyprus was calm but “progress toward a political solution remains negligible at best.”
Official contacts between the two parties have not resumed since the April 2004 referendum on a comprehensive settlement plan failed. About 65 per cent of Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of the plan, while 76 per cent of Greek Cypriots voted against it.

United Nations (UN) has sent a letter to President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) about the meeting held between UN SG Kofi Annan and Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos in Paris on Feb. 28th and on some other technical issues.
TRNC President`s Office spokesman Asim Akansoy said that TRNC President Talat received a letter from UN SG Annan, but he didn`t give information about the content of the letter. Akansoy said Talat was examining the letter.
When asked if Annan`s special envoy to Cyprus Michael Moller would meet TRNC President Talat tomorrow, Akansoy said that there was no such appointment in Talat`s schedule for this week.

New laws have been passed in the TRNC to regulate and encourage the opening of off-shore companies and banks here in the TRNC. Although the off shore banking laws are yet to be released, the stand on off-shore companies has been disclosed, and the following are some of the regulations it includes: A reduced rate of 2.5% interest per annum will be payable, and those investors wishing to remain anonymous can do so my having trustee share holders. The setting up capital required is also at a reduced value of 20,000Euros. It is thought that with these relaxed regulations TRNC will see the emergence of many off-shore companies within the next couple of years.

The Greek Cypriot side is ready to proceed to negotiations for a settlement of the Cyprus problem, provided they are carefully prepared, President Tassos Papadopoulos told the Big Five during a working lunch he hosted in New York. According to diplomatic sources, during the working lunch the President set out his views regarding the present stage of the Cyprus problem, noting that the Greek Cypriot side had already submitted its positions to UN Secretary General's envoy, Sir Kieran Prendergast, and was ready to enter new talks after careful preparation. The discussion was held in a positive climate and President Papadopoulos replied to all questions addressed to him by the permanent representatives of the five permanent members of Security Council.

TURKISH Cypriots living in London have gathered 16,000 signatures in favour of the direct flights to the Turkish-held north. According to leading Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris, Turkish Cypriots handed the petition to British Foreign Ministry Official Chantel Mortimer who would forward it to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The petition is part of wider Turkish Cypriot diplomatic push to get London to establish direct air links with the north and confer a higher diplomatic standing to the occupation regime. Petition organiser Ismail Veli told Kibris the initiative was undertaken because post-referendum promises by the international community to lift Turkish Cypriots out of their so-called isolation had not been kept. Veli said that during his campaign through Turkish-populated Enfield in the run-up to Britain's May elections, Straw said Britain was the only country that would help Cyprus. According to Veli, Straw had asked Enfield's Turkish residents to collect 16,000 signatures and send them to the Labour Party.