UN invites Greece, Turkey to talks on March 23

NICOSIA: The United Nations has invited Greece and Turkey to join expanded Cypriot reunification talks in Switzerland on March 23, a semi-official Cypriot news agency reported on Thursday. In Ankara, a Turkish official said the invitation was at prime minister level. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan would consider attending, but his decision hinged on whether his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis also went, he said. The Cyprus News Agency said the negotiations would start at a resort near Lucerne with the participation of representatives from Greece, Turkey and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. Secretary-General Kofi Annan would join participants at the end of March, the agency said, quoting “well informed” sources in New York. United Nations officials in Nicosia were not immediately available for comment. But a decision by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on Wednesday not to attend the next phase of negotiations is a setback for mediators aiming for a deal by May 1. —Reuters

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