Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders met with a UN mediator Thursday, launching talks to reunify the divided island hours after a small bomb exploded in front of the home of the Turkish Cypriot prime minister.
UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto greeted chief Turkish Cypriot negotiator Rauf Denktash and his Greek Cypriot counterpart, President Tassos Papadopoulos, as they arrived at the UN conference center in the abandoned Nicosia airport in the buffer zone that divides Cyprus.
Hours earlier, a bomb broke the front door and windows of the home of Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, but caused no injuries.
Talat dismissed the overnight blast at his house as a "futile effort to scare us," according to Anatolia news agency.
"There is no return from this road," Talat told reporters. "In this process, there may be some people who are disturbed by the two communities coming closer, but such acts will not make us return from this path."
Talat added, "I had just got into bed, but it happened before I fell asleep. I heard the loud blast and got up." (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
