In statements to reporters on Thursday, United Nations special envoy for Cyprus Alvaro de Soto said a comprehensive and detailed text for a solution to the Cyprus problem appeared closer than ever before in the past 30 years, but stressed that the success of the negotiations taking place in the Swiss suburb could only be judged by their results.

In statements to reporters on Thursday, United Nations special envoy for Cyprus Alvaro de Soto said a comprehensive and detailed text for a solution to the Cyprus problem appeared closer than ever before in the past 30 years, but stressed that the success of the negotiations taking place in the Swiss suburb could only be judged by their results.

 Pointing out that a text of minimum agreement was no longer enough at this stage, he stressed that the UN will take as a success a text on which all the parties have agreed, not one that is finalized by the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

 He said the UN chief was expected to arrive in Burgenstock within the next few days and would remain until March 31, if necessary.

 The envoy said he was satisfied with the progress of the enlarged negotiations that began on Wednesday in Burgenstock, a suburb near the Swiss city of Lucerne, saying these were un-folding at ''their own pace and have their own momentum''.

 The current talks involve Greece and Turkey, as well as the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities on Cyprus.

 De Soto said that if there was no agreement, the final peace plan that will be presented to the two sides on March 31 and will go to referendum will differ considerably from the existing plan.

 He also was clear on the prospect of direct talks between all the four sides involved.

 ''The agreement in New York foresees that if the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot sides fail to agree by March 22, then Greece and Turkey would offer their assistance. At no point does it say that there must be a meeting of all four sides. This can happen but it is not necessary,'' he said. 

 Earlier on Thursday, Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis met with the U.S. State Department's envoy for Cyprus Thomas Weston in Burgenstock to discuss developments and the prospects of the negotiations.

 Molyviatis, who arrived in Burgenstock on Wednesday evening, attended a dinner arranged by de Soto that was also attended by Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos, former Cyprus president Glafcos Clerides, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannis Valinakis, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Turkish-Cypriot pseudo-premier Mehmet Ali Talat and Turkish-Cypriot 'foreign minister' Serdar Denktash. 

 The dinner, the first of its kind since 1960, apparently took place in a friendly climate while the Cyprus issue was not discussed in detail.

 Regarding departures from the acquis communautaire sought by the Turkish side, de Soto admitted that there were some in the Annan plan but said that this was still under negotiation.

 He ruled out the prospect of canceling the twin referendums on Cyprus if there was no agreement and reiterated all sides had agreed that any text, whether it arose through agreement or through the UN secretary-general's mediation, will go to referendum.

Source: Athens News Agency

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