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The TRNC delegation, led by President Rauf Denktas, will hold its initial meetings on the island with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos Thursday morning. Under the United Nations sponsored talks, the leaders are to meet three times a week, with representatives from both sides holding technical talks daily.
The first round of talks come only hours after a bomb attack against the home of TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat. No one was injured in the blast and Talat vowed that the act would not deflect him from his support to finding a solution to the Cyprus dispute.
The two sides have until March 22 to broker an agreement for a unified state. After that date, it has been agreed that the guarantor powers Turkey and Greece will take a greater role in the talks. If no deal is reached by March 29, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the author of the plans to reunify the two states, is to be called in to resolve any lasting disagreements ahead of referendums to be held to approve reunification in April. | |
