UN envoy says no 'plan B' if Cyprus effort fails

UN envoy Alvaro de Soto said on Tuesday the organisation had no fallback option if its Cyprus reunification plan was rejected by Greek or Turkish Cypriots in votes before the island joins the European Union in May.
"We do not have a plan B, nor are we thinking about scenarios about what will happen," he told reporters after meeting EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenther Verheugen.
The UN plan calls for Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to begin make or break talks on Thursday, and for both sides of the Mediterranean island to hold referendums on any deal in April.
The negotiations offer the last chance to unify Cyprus before it joins the European Union on May 1.
De Soto said he was "fairly confident" if the talks led to a referendum, political leaders would encourage a yes vote.
In Nicosia, George Papandreou, leader of Greece's governing socialist party, appealed for active EU involvement setting up a possible early showdown with reluctant Turkish negotiators.
Speaking to reporters in Nicosia after meeting Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos, Papandreou said EU involvement - "and particularly the EU Commission" - was vital.
"These negotiations will be tough and difficult. But I think with the participation of the EU - which is in effect involved because Cyprus is a member of the EU - I think we can talk of a positive outcome," Papandreou said.
Papandreou has led Greek efforts on the talks and although he stepped down as foreign minister on Monday to lead the socialists in a March 7 general election campaign, he is still playing a key behind-the-scenes role.
But de Soto and Verheugen knocked back suggestions of an EU role other than finding solutions with problems relating to EU law and accommodating a settlement.
"A kind of institutionalised (EU) role or something like that is not necessary," Verheugen said.
"There is no provision for institutionalised participation of the European Union," said De Soto. "We are quite satisfied with both the level and the character of the co-operation."
Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots said last week they did not want EU experts to join the negotiations, arguing the bloc was not independent as it has already agreed that the Greek Cypriots - the internationally recognised Cyprus government - will join the EU whether or not there is a peace deal.
Turkey believes the United Nations is the only independent body and has brokered talks during Cyprus's 30-year division, which dates to a Turkish invasion of the north of the island in 1974 after a Greek Cypriot coup backed by Greece.