BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said Friday he saw progress toward reaching a peace deal with Greek Cypriots at talks last month, even if details of any achievements remain vague.

But he said the negotiations could come to a standstill if he loses a presidential election on the Turkish side of divided Cyprus in April to a candidate, Dervis Eroglu.
“We made quite good progress on very thorny issues,” Talat told a seminar in Brussels, speaking about the discussions held last month.
“Our original proposal to intensify talks is the best approach to the Cyprus problem,” he added.
Talat, widely seen as a moderate, and Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias have been holding talks focusing on creating a two-zone federation on the Mediterranean island, divided since a 1974 Turkish invasion triggered by a brief, Greek-inspired coup.
Underscoring the difficulties, Greece's deputy foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas Thursday called the latest talks “a step back” and said he was not optimistic.
Talat also said the talks could come to a standstill if he loses a presidential election on the Turkish side in April to Eroglu, the north Cyprus prime minister.
Opinion polls have picked Eroglu as the likely winner and diplomats say if this happens the talks, which began in 2008, may collapse, dealing a blow to Turkey's hopes of joining the European Union.
Talat was in Brussels to meet European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. Parliamentarians have criticized Ankara for failing to carry out obligations to the EU to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
Greek Cypriots, who do not recognize the breakaway enclave, represent the island in the EU.
The latest negotiations were on power-sharing and the economy. Other important areas are security guarantees and property claims by people displaced in the 1974 conflict which left the island divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Talat said the sides had moved closer to agreement in several areas but with an understanding that conclusions could be subject to further discussion.
“We didn't close any issues on purpose. Why? ... Let's see what progress we make on property, territory and then come back and conclude this by an approach of 'give-and-take',” he said.
One example, he said, was an agreement to have a joint police force and no military on the island. This would include a federal force and investigative authority that would deal with crimes such as terrorism and money laundering.
But details of how it and local units would be organized remained on the table.