Annan meets Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders for reaction to settlement plan

United Nations Secretary-General met separately today with the Greek and Turkish Cypriot delegations in Switzerland to receive their reactions to the draft plan to reunify the island nation before its entry into the European Union on 1 May.

Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece, Yiannis Valinikis, for the same purpose, a UN spokesperson said in New York.

Mr. de Soto had received the reaction of the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after the Prime Minister's arrival last night in the Swiss town of Bürgenstock, where the final negotiations are being held. Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is also participating in the talks.

The spokesperson said contacts at the working level are continuing, while the Secretary-General and his team evaluate the reactions they have received to see whether further adjustments can be made in the time remaining.

Yesterday the Secretary-General unveiled the plan, which would ultimately create a federation of two constituent states - a Greek Cypriot state and a Turkish Cypriot state - and called on the two parties to seize the opportunity to settle the decades-old Cyprus problem "once and for all."

Mr. Annan began today by meeting the European Commissioner for enlargement, Günter Verheugen, and late in the afternoon received the Swiss Foreign Minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, for a courtesy call.

More photos from the talks in Bürgenstock