Cyprus re-unification talks 'on hold'

There is no hope of any progress in United Nations-led efforts to reunify war-divided Cyprus until elections are held in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island, the Cypriot president says.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has long worked to hammer out an agreement between the two sides, agrees that the reunification process will remain frozen until Turkish Cypriots hold parliamentary elections at the end of the year, President Tassos Papadopoulos added.

“I think it’s a general admission, from the secretary-general and from everyone, that at least until December, when there will be elections in the occupied part, there is no possibility of talks recommencing or for there to be any progress,” Papadopoulos said.