ISTANBUL Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash flew to New York on Saturday to attend next week's UN-brokered talks designed to end the division of Cyprus.
Denktash and internationally-recognized Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides are to meet UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his special adviser on Cyprus, Alavaro de Soto, separately in the fourth round of "proximity talks" resuming on September 12.
"We do not sit at the table for tactical reasons," Turkey's Anatolian News Agency quoted Denktash as saying before departing Istanbul Airport. "We sit at the table with seriousness, sincerity and because we want an agreement." Annan last week urged the two leaders to "be prepared to discuss the core issues" after previous three rounds of negotiations ended inconclusively.
The United Nations has long been trying to reunite the Mediterranean island under a federal umbrella. But major issues such as territory, security and property remained unsolved.
Denktash has said it was unlikely that the next week's talks would be able to tackle "substantive issues". Clerides has said the UN Security Council should deal with the Cyprus problem if Denktash refuses to change his negotiation stance.
Cyprus has been divided by the UN-patrolled green line between the two sides since 1974 when Turkey invaded the northern third in response to a coup backed the junta then ruling Greece.
(Reuter)