Cyprus president proposes meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader

Cyprus' President Tassos Papadopoulos has proposed a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in a bid to break a deadlock in reunification talks on this ethnically divided island, the government said Monday.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots agreed a year ago to start two-tier negotiations — with technical committees tackling everyday concerns and working groups dealing with substantive issues — but there has been no movement since.

Government spokesman Vasilis Palmas said Papadopoulos had sent Talat a letter calling for a meeting "to try to advance the July 8 agreement."

"Completing a year without substantial results ... it was considered advisable to try to give this agreement a push through this meeting," Palmas said.

The agreement aimed to renew contacts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, leading eventually to broader negotiations on reuniting the island — divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974.

Palmas said the letter was sent several days ago.

Hacan Ercakica, Talat's spokesman, said Turkish Cypriot authorities will evaluate the proposal and reply within the week, the Cyprus News Agency said.

In 2004, Greek Cypriot voters rejected a U.N. reunification plan that Turkish Cypriots accepted in a separate referendum.

The United Nations has repeatedly pushed the two sides to open negotiations.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on Friday to show "imagination and political courage," adding that it was "regrettable" there has been no movement a year later.