国际英语新闻：Cypriot peace talks to start on Sept. 3

ATHENS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Ali Talat agreed Friday to start the Cypriot peace negotiations on Sept. 3 with a view to ending years of division of Cyprus.

    The aim of the talks is to reach "mutually accepted solution to the Cyprus problem which will safeguard the fundamental and legitimate rights and interests of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots", the United Nations Special Representative to Cyprus Taye Brook Zerihoun said in a joint statement.

Cyprus' President Dimitris Christofias (R) shakes hands with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat after their meeting, as U.N. representative Taye-Brook Zerihoun (C) looks on in the buffer zone of divided Nicosia in Cyprus July 25, 2008. Leaders of Cyprus' estranged Greek and Turkish communities agreed on Friday to re-launch talks on September 3 to reunite the island, where division is hampering Turkey's European Union aspirations.

Any solution reached by the two sides would be put to separate simultaneous referendum, the Cyprus News Agency quoted Zerihoun assaying.

    The two leaders also reached over 16 cooperation accords on the issues of environment, cultural heritage, crisis management and crime fighting.

    This was the fourth meeting between Greek President Christofias and Talat since they met for the first time to revive the peace process in March.

Cyprus' President Dimitris Christofias (R) applauds next to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat after their meeting in the buffer zone of divided Nicosia in Cyprus July 25, 2008.

Under the agreement reached in March, seven technical committees and six working groups comprising experts from both communities, set up to discuss various aspects of the Cyprus question, including governance, security, economy, health and territory in preparation for the final negotiations between the two leaders.

    The Greek Cypriots have recently underlined the importance of a clear common basis on which the two leaders will be able to launch full-fledged negotiations.

    They maintained that a viable solution would be a federal united republic of Cyprus, bi-zonal and bi-communal, with one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international personality.

    The Turkish Cypriot leadership stressed a reunited Cyprus should be established on "a Turkish Cypriot constituent state and a Greek Cypriot constituent state with political equality."

    Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish military intervened and controlled the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

    In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot authorities declared the establishment of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which is recognized only by Ankara.

    Turkey maintains some 40,000 troops in the self-proclaimed " Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which remains a key issue in the revived peace process aimed at reunifying the island.

    For several decades, the UN has continuously worked to persuade the two communities to find a solution to the Cyprus issue, which is also a main obstacle to Turkey's EU membership ambitions.