As a United Nations spokesman yesterday said he was unaware of any new proposal from Nicosia for restarting the deadlocked Cyprus peace talks, the Cypriot government was forced to admit that it had made no official overture.

On Thursday, President Tassos Papadopoulos said he had asked the UN to relaunch peace talks, under the auspices of the UN and “within the framework of the Annan plan.”

Last April, Greek Cypriots rejected UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s peace plan. In February, Annan asked Papadopoulos to outline his objections to the plan.

Yesterday, Cypriot government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said Nicosia was only engaged in “exploratory contacts” with the UN. A UN spokesman in New York said no official proposal had been received.

Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis is due to discuss Cyprus with Annan in New York on March 28.