Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said he hopes his proposal for a two-state solution to the island's conflict will bring a "new vision" to United Nations-led talks this week, despite its prior rejection by Greek Cypriots.
The United Nations is hosting informal talks starting on Tuesday over Cyprus, which was split between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north in 1974. It has invited the island's two communities and foreign ministers of the three guarantor nations - Turkey, Greece and Britain - to attend.
Previous talks on reunification under a federal umbrella, as called for in UN resolutions, have failed. Northern Cyprus has since called for a two-state solution, but Greek Cypriots - who form the island's internationally recognized, EU member government - reject this as it implies Turkish Cypriot sovereign authority.