Talat: Papadopulos' elimination raises hopes of overcoming Cyprus deadlock

Sunday's elimination of incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos, who in 2003 pushed for rejection of a UN plan to resolve the Cyprus issue, from the first round of Greek Cypriot presidential elections has raised hopes that the deadlock on the island can be overcome, according to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). President Mehmet Ali Talat. "The Turkish Cypriot people favor the establishment of a new partnership state based on the political equality of the two peoples and the equal status of two constituent states," Talat said in a written statement. �They expressly stated this position during the (runup to the 2003) referendum (on the UN plan). We are looking at the elections on the Greek Cypriot side to gauge whether or not they will give rise to new prospects for a solution. Papadopoulos was, unfortunately, not interested in solving the Cyprus problem. However, the positions put forward by the two candidates who will be competing for the presidency in the second round indicate that they are more interested in solving the problem." The second round is set for this weekend, Sunday, Feb. 24.