THE TWO COMMUNITY LEADERS OF CYPRUS BROKE A TWO- YEAR DEADLOCK IN PEACE TALKS AND AGREED SATURDAY TO ESTABLISH TWO WORKING COMMITTEES BY THE END OF JULY TO START DISCUSSING WAYS TO RESUME TALKS TO REUNIFY THE ISLAND, DPA REPORTED. THIS WAS THE THIRD TIME THEY MET IN A WEEK WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A SENIOR UNITED NATIONS ENVOY ACTING AS A CATALYST TO NARROW THE WIDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GREEK AND TURKISH COMMUNITIES OF CYPRUS. UN UNDERSECRETARY GENERAL FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS IBRAHIM GAMBARI ANNOUNCED A FIVE-POINT AGREEMENT THAT EVOLVED AFTER A THREE-HOUR MEETING IN THE UN-CONTROLLED AREA OF THE ABANDONED NICOSIA AIRPORT BETWEEN GREEK CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TASSOS PAPADOPOULOS AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADER MEHMET ALI TALAT. GAMBARI, WHO ARRIVED ON THE ISLAND ON THURSDAY TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY GROUND TO RESUME PEACE TALKS, SAID THE TWO LEADERS AGREED TO A COMMITMENT TOWARDS A UNIFICATION BASED ON A FEDERATION OF THE TWO COMMUNITIES AND ALSO BASED ON POLITICAL EQUALITY. HE SAID THE PRESENT STATUS QUO WAS UNACCEPTABLE AND COULD NOT CONTINUE, CLARIFYING THAT ANY SETTLEMENT WOULD HAVE TO BE BASED ON UN PRINCIPLES AND RESOLUTIONS.
