March 12, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 8, 1424

THE HAGUE, March 11: A frustrated UN chief Kofi Annan admitted on Tuesday that he had failed to get Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to agree on a reunification deal for their divided island, as EU officials said Turkey now faced difficult accession talks as a result.

“We have reached the end of the road,” Mr Annan said in a statement read by Alvaro de Soto, his special envoy to the Mediterranean island that has been divided for 29 years and will remain divided when it joins the European Union next year.

“I share tonight with all peace-loving Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Greeks and Turks, a deep sense of sadness. I’m not sure another opportunity like this one will present itself again any time soon,” Annan said at the end of marathon talks stretching into the early morning hours of Tuesday in the Dutch capital.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said the failure meant Turkey faced a stiff challenge in its already struggling EU accession bid.

“It appears very difficult for accession negotiations to start with Turkey in this situation,” said commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori.

Athens blamed the failure on Turkish “intransigence,” while Turkey said discussions should continue and denounced pressure being put on it because of next year’s EU expansion.

Annan had summoned Tassos Papadopoulos, president of the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government, and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to the Dutch capital for make-or-break talks on his peace proposal that envisaged a Swiss-style confederation for the island.

But Denktash said the plan was unacceptable to the Turkish Cypriots of the north, where Turkey maintains thousands of troops after invading the island in 1974 following a coup that tried to unite the island with Greece.

“The plan was unacceptable for us. This was not a plan we would ask our people to vote for,” he told reporters after the two leaders held both separate and joint talks with Annan.—AFP