Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias (r) and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat shake hands in Nicosia yesterday. They decided to relaunch direct talks in September, eliciting plaudits from diplomats in Athens, Brussels and Washington.

Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday agreed to begin direct talks on September 3 aimed at reunifying the island, prompting plaudits from European Union and US officials.

Meanwhile, the scheduled arrival on the island tomorrow of the new United Nations mediator on the Cyprus issue, Australian former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, is seen as a sign the process is moving forward. “The aim of the fully fledged negotiations is to find a mutually acceptable solution to the Cyprus problem which will safeguard the fundamental and legitimate rights and interests of Greek and Turkish Cypriots,” a joint statement said. Any agreement the two leaders might reach would be put to simultaneous referendums on both sides of the island, the statement added.

The two men, whose meeting in Nicosia lasted more than two hours, also agreed to set up a telephone hotline between their two offices “as a reflection of their heightened engagement.” “We have taken a step forward – this is a positive development,” Christofias said. “Our objective is to reach a settlement in a short time... I believe we can make it by the end of 2008,” Talat said

“Greece fully supports the new process of negotiations,” said Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis. But she noted “the road to a solution will be a difficult one.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “warmly welcomed” the move and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called it “an important step.” US State Department spokes-man Gonzalo Gallegos said Washington “strongly supported” the negotiations.