UN: The United Nations is expected to put forward a Cyprus peace plan in the next few days. It hopes to resolve in 30 days a conflict that has defied settlement for three decades, diplomatic sources said yesterday.
In the most comprehensive peace plan for more than 10 years, UN officials are to submit, probably by Monday, a blueprint they hope Greeks and Turks will accept before the European Union invites Cyprus to join at a December summit.
The plan was drawn up by a team under UN envoy Mr Alvaro de Soto, with help from the US and Britain. Mediators hope the outline of a peace agreement will be in place by the EU's December 12th Copenhagen summit.
Greek Foreign Minister Mr George Papandreou said he was awaiting the proposals from UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan. "Up to now what the UN has been trying to do is broker a solution. It has reached a point where I believe Kofi Annan will try to give what he thinks is a viable proposal," he said after talks with British Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw in London.
The strategically-placed island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded its northern third in response to a briefly sustained Greek Cypriot coup.
The Greek Cypriots want a two-zone federation linked by a central government, while the Turkish Cypriots seek a confederation of two largely independent states.
Details of the plan are sketchy, but sources say it will cover the four core issues of the Cyprus problem - governance of a reunified state, territory trade-offs, property ownership and security issues.
It is understood the UN proposals will endorse a system of two zones linked by a central government responsible for external and EU affairs. Some reports have suggested a rotation of power between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.