Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday that the admission of Cyprus to the European Union would not depend on reunification of the island.

“The EU would be reluctant to accept unsolved border problems within the Union,” Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides in Copenhagen. “A solution to the Cyprus problem would be an advantage, but it is not a condition for enlargement.” Denmark takes over the rotating EU presidency on July 1.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended yesterday that the UN peacekeeping force’s mandate on Cyprus should be extended to December 15. In a report to the Security Council, Annan said the situation along the Green Line had been calm for the past six months, adding that he was encouraged by talks between Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. (AP, AFP)