Turkey and northern Cyprus were in full consensus of opinion to continue, within close solidarity and cooperation, their efforts for lasting peace and solution in Cyprus, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

Erdogan made the remarks at a news conference in Istanbul, where he and the visiting Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash held talks earlier in the day on ways to revive efforts for finding a solution to the divided island of Cyprus, Turkey's Anatolia News Agency reported.

Erdogan told reporters that he and northern Cyprus leader Rauf Denktas exchanged views about Cyprus question and "I am pleased to listen to the views of Mr. Denktas."

"Our common target is to reach a lasting and fair peace on the island within the scope of good will mission of UN Secretary General (Kofi Annan)," Erdogan added.

For his part, Denktas said that the Cyprus issue was a common national cause, with a target of ensuring permanent peace, consensus, prosperity and security of people and not repeating the past.

He noted that he and Erdogan took up all of those issues during their meeting and did not have different opinions between the two sides, which pleased him very much.

This good cooperation would continue for the benefit of national cause, he added.

One of the key points of the discussions is the draft proposal put forward by the Turkish Foreign Ministry to facilitate the resumption of talks aimed at reunifying the rival Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parts on the island.

The plan, which accepts elements of the proposals sponsored by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, includes reducing the number of Turkish troops stationed in the northern Cyprus and strengthening mechanisms for protecting the interests of Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus has been partitioned into the Greek Cypriots-controlled south and Turkish Cypriots-dominated north since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and seized the northern one-third of the island in response to a coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece.

More than 35,000 Turkish troops are currently stationed on the northern island for the security of Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus peace talks collapsed earlier last year, leaving a bitter personal blow to Annan and a major setback for Turkey's own hopes of joining the European Union.

NATO allies Greece and Turkey, whose support of their communities on the Cyprus Island has pushed them close to war in the past, vowed to overcome the setback.

Under the proposals to be made by Ankara, there will be a gradual decrease in the number of Turkish troops based in northern Cyprus, with the contingent being eventually lowered to 6,000. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2004)