CYPRUS: The UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, has said that a peace settlement in Cyprus must be reached by the end of March if a reunified island is to enter the EU on May 1st.
Speaking in Brussels following a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, Mr Annan called on Ireland's EU presidency to encourage all the parties to reach agreement as soon as possible.
"We don't have much time, and if the talks were to resume, they should come to the table with a very constructive posture and where possible very concrete ideas as to how we move forward.
"We have less than 70 days if we are going to try to resolve this issue before May 1st. All this would have to be done by the end of March for them to have simultaneous referenda in April to meet the May 1st deadline."
Mr Cowen said the Irish presidency would do all in its power to facilitate an early resumption of talks with a view to welcoming a united Cyprus into the EU. "The EU presidency wishes to see a successful conclusion to these negotiations before enlargement, if at all possible. That would be the best solution for everyone, the best solution for all Cypriots in our view, and we wish well the initiative that is beginning to emerge, and we hope it will bring about the successful conclusion we all wish to see."
Support for Mr Annan's UN settlement plan came yesterday from the Council of Europe.
The parliamentary assembly of the human rights forum based in Strasbourg unanimously adopted a resolution saying the body "appeals to the leaders of both communities to recommence talks without delay".
The Greek Cypriot President, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, told the assembly before the vote that he backed "immediately restarting negotiations".
"It's in Cypriots' interest that Cyprus is reunified when it is joining the European Union. Our side is willing to be as flexible as possible in search of whatever arrangements are needed to find a viable and lasting peace.
"There is a point on which we will be intransigent. There is no question of having two states on Cyprus. We will not accept a definitive split of Cyprus."