Turkey upbeat on Cyprus deal

Shock election victor Papadopoulos says he wants changes in the plan. Story Tools

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey's de facto leader Tayyip Erdogan said Monday he believed a U.N.-brokered deal to unite Cyprus could be reached in time to be sealed in March referendums.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been working on the second revision of a plan to reunite the Greek and Turkish sides of the Mediterranean island, with a February 28 deadline set for unification. The move would have to be ratified by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots in voting set for March.

If the deadline is not met, only the Greek-backed, internationally recognized portion of Cyprus will be able to sign a European Union accession agreement by April 16, when the E.U. accepts 10 new members.

On Monday, a British official confirmed Britain will give up close to half of its sovereign territory on Cyprus as part of the peace proposal.

The British offer to cede some 45 square miles of land on its military bases will not affect British military capability on Cyprus, the foreign office spokeswoman said. The land is mostly farmland and is not occupied by troops.

Annan plans to meet with the Turkish president and prime minister Tuesday to discuss Cyprus before traveling on to Greece and Cyprus.

"I devoutly hope the treaty [agreement] will be signed on behalf of a united Cyprus," Annan said. "This is also the strong preference of the European Union."

Meanwhile, Cypriot officials on both sides have been considering a December 10 compromise plan offered by the United Nations.

Tassos Papadopoulos, new leader of the Greek Cypriots, said the proposal must be changed before his citizens will accept it. Key issues, he said, include the right-of-return of all Greek Cypriot refugees forced from the Turkish-occupied north and full respect of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, who is backed by Ankara, also opposes the plan. He wants Turkish Cyprus to be recognized diplomatically as a prelude to establishing the proposed federation.

"I wish to do all I can to encourage the leaders to muster the spirit of compromise, courage and leadership, which they are capable of," Annan said.

Cyprus, a point of tension between NATO allies Turkey and Greece for decades, has been divided into a Turkish north and Greek south since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded in response to a brief military coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece.

This is "a defining moment for Cyprus," Annan told reporters on Sunday. "I know we are preoccupied with Iraq, but we should not let it detract us from this crucial moment."

-- CNN Producers Andy Card and Anthony Kouardaoughli contributed to this report.

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