Turkish Leader Suggests U.N. Can Work Out a Cyprus Settlement | NY Times

[Ediacara]

Turkish Leader Suggests U.N. Can Work Out a Cyprus Settlement
By ALAN COWELL

Published: January 25, 2004

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 24 — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey staked out an apparently conciliatory approach to the dispute in Cyprus on Saturday, saying he would allow the United Nations to "fill in the blanks" of a settlement just days before he is scheduled to visit the United States to meet Bush administration officials.

Turkish troops invaded the northern part of Cyprus in 1974 after a pro-Greek coup on the Mediterranean island. Since then, the Turkish Cypriot government in the north has won no international recognition, and the continued division of Cyprus has bedeviled Turkey's relationship with many of its traditional allies.

Mr. Erdogan met with the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, on Saturday on the fringes of the World Economic Forum here.

At a news conference later, Mr. Erdogan said Turkey was prepared to accept a proposal that Mr. Annan complete the details of a settlement worked out by Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders.

More at the New York Times