Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos on Thursday reiterated his rejection of a U.N. peace blueprint without improvements he said were needed to make reunification work. At his urging a large majority of the Greek Cypriot community he heads rejected the U.N. plan in a referendum last April, with Cyprus joining the European Union divided on May 1. In a televised address marking 44 years of independence from Britain on October 1, Papadopoulos said he wanted a settlement ending decades of ethnic division between Greek and Turkish Cypriots "as soon as possible." "This solution will necessarily be sought within the framework and philosophy of the (U.N.) plan. "This plan can obviously not be revived as is, or with small cosmetic changes ... we want changes and amendments to this plan which will allow a functionable, viable settlement," he said. United Nations-led negotiations on Cyprus ground to a halt after the referendum result on the Greek Cypriot side, but the Cyprus conundrum could rear its head again as the EU decides whether to open membership talks with Turkey early next year.
