UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos have agreed to meet in late February to explore the possibility of resuming the talks on the reunification of Cyprus, a UN spokesman said Thursday.

The meeting, planned for Feb. 28 in Paris, will concern "ways of moving forward the process of reuniting the island," Stephanie Dujarric told reporters.

Last month, in Davos, Switzerland, Annan met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to review the latter's proposal on restarting the reunification negotiations.

Cyprus, a Mediterranean island, has been divided into the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sectors for 40 years. The Greek Cypriot government is recognized internationally, but the Turkish Cypriot authority only gains the recognition of Turkey.

Official contacts between the two parties have not resumed since the April 2004 referendum on a comprehensive settlement plan failed. About 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the UN-drafted plan, while 76 percent of Greek Cypriots voted against.

A UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in Cyprus since 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. It monitors ceasefire lines that extend some 180 kilometers across the island.

(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2006)