By Michele Kambas and Dina Kyriakidou - Reuters

NICOSIA - Cyprus said yesterday that it would propose measures to build up trust between the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities and prepare the ground for new talks on reuniting the Mediterranean island.

Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos will put the proposals to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan when they meet in Paris on February 28, said Giorgos Lillikas, one of Papadopoulos’s closest aides.

“What is important is to overcome the situation today and look at how we can move forward, map out the next steps,” he told Reuters in an interview.

Lillikas said measures that could bring the two sides closer included opening more checkpoints along the UN-controlled “green line,” demilitarizing the walled Venetian city in the divided capital Nicosia and increasing trade.

The port of Famagusta could be run jointly by Greek and Turkish Cypriots under EU administration if the Turkish Cypriots handed the nearby ghost city of Varosha to the Greek Cypriots, he said.

Turkish Cypriots have rejected these proposals, saying they did not address the real issues and aimed to keep them isolated.

Lillikas said whatever the two communities did, it was up to Turkey to resolve the problems blocking reunification.

“There are no real social problems between us, they are not Muslim fanatics and we are not Christian fanatics,” he said. “It’s a political issue and if there is political will from Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot side... the solution is easy.”

Lillikas said the Turkish proposal to allow Cypriot ships to dock at Turkish ports in exchange for easing trade restrictions on Turkish Cypriots was a non-starter.

Ankara must open its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic as part of its obligation to extend its customs union with the EU to all member states, and Cyprus will use its right to veto Turkey’s EU membership negotiations if Ankara fails to comply, Lillikas said.

Meanwhile in a separate interview with Reuters, Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat told Reuters that lack of progress on unifying Cyprus meant permanent partition was becoming more of a possibility.

“Partition is becoming a reality... this is dangerous and I don’t want it to happen.” Talat said he would keep pushing for unification but admitted inhabitants of the north were more disillusioned and the north’s isolation forced them to rely more on Turkey, the only country to recognize the northern enclave. Talat accused the Greek Cypriots of imposing new measures on the Turkish Cypriots by pressuring foreign diplomats not to visit him and making it difficult for Turkish Cypriot non-governmental organizations to operate. “In reality, the Greek-Cypriot government doesn’t want power sharing with the Turkish Cypriots... the government is not willing to unify the island,” Talat said.