December 30, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 6, 1424

NICOSIA, Dec 29: Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on Monday gave a mandate to form a government to the leader of a party that backs a UN plan to reunify Cyprus.

This month’s general election left parliament in the Turkish-Cypriot controlled north evenly split between supporters and opponents of the UN plan.

“We have been given the duty to form the government within the next 15 days which will then be expected to receive a vote of confidence,” Mehmet Ali Talat told reporters.

His Republican People’s Party garnered most seats after the polls, but it was far from clear whether he could win a vote of confidence in parliament.

Veteran leader Denktash, president of the northern part of Cyprus, is strongly opposed to the UN blueprint, arguing it would enable the richer and more numerous Greek Cypriots to dominate a reunited Cyprus.

The internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government is due to join the EU on May 1.

“We need to form a government as quickly as possible because May 2004 is a very real date by which time a solution to the Cyprus problem needs to be found,” Mr Talat said.

Turkey is pressuring Rauf Denktash to return to the negotiating table, knowing that deadlock on Cyprus could harm its own European Union ambitions.—Reuters