Turk Cypriots want 'clarity on status' if talks fail

Talks on the reunification of Cyprus should resume only if the "political status" of Turkish Cypriots is addressed should the new talks fail, a senior Turkish Cypriot official said.

Outlining positions likely to be rejected outright by Greek Cypriots, Ozdil Nami, the chief Turkish Cypriot negotiator, said the Turkish Cypriots needed assurance that their political status would be spelled out if the talks failed.

Cyprus was split by a Turkish invasion in 1974 that followed a Greek-inspired coup. The breakaway state in the northern part of the island, with a population of about 300,000 people, is recognized only by Turkey. For Greek Cypriots, who run the island's internationally recognized government which represents the whole island in the European Union, any recognition of the north without reunification is out of the question.

"We as the Turkish Cypriot...