Papadopoulos' victory over incumbent Glafcos Clerides comes ahead of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's visit to Cyprus next week in a last-ditch bid to win Greek and Turkish Cypriot acceptance of his plan before a February 28 deadline to allow a united Cyprus enter the European Union (EU).

"It is our duty to continue the (UN) negotiations with flexibility and goodwill to bring about the improvements... necessary to change the Annan plan into a viable and lasting solution," Papadopoulos, 69, told thousands of cheering supporters during his inauguration late on Sunday.

He said key changes he wanted were the return of all Greek Cypriot refugees forced from the Turkish-occupied north of the Mediterranean island and full respect of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Annan's plan envisages Cyprus' reunification as a single state consisting of two separate Greek and Turkish Cypriot "component states" linked through a weak central government.

Papadopoulos, a centrist backed by leftists, won Sunday's election with 51.55 percent of the vote after running a campaign criticizing 83-year-old Clerides for giving too much away in the deadlocked UN-sponsored reunification talks with Denktash.

Clerides, the right-wing leader who wanted a third but limited 16-month term to help steer the island through the reunification negotiations, garnered 38.8 percent of the vote.

Papadopoulos officially becomes president on March 1, but Clerides has given him the green light to deal with Cyprus' reunification negotiations before the February 28 deadline, according to a statement released by the outgoing president.

Alvaro de Soto, Annan's special envoy for Cyprus, has warned if the plan is not accepted by February 28, "the opportunity (for a settlement) disappears until something happens and that is totally uncertain."

If the deadline is not met, Cyprus will in theory be admitted to the EU as a whole, but under the internationally recognized Cyprus Government.

(China Daily February 18, 2003)