NICOSIA, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- In a major departure from Turkey's official policy on Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has said it would be a mistake to abandon the United Nations (UN) parameters defining a Cyprus solution.
In July, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after the breakdown of an international conference on Cyprus in Crans Montana, Switzerland, that Turkey would seek a Cyprus solution outside UN parameters.
Though there were signs of a re-appraisal of this approach, Turkey has so far not changed the policy defined by Cavusoglu.
Akinci told an audience at an Istanbul university on Monday night that Turkish Cypriots would seek a federal solution as defined by UN Security Council resolutions and agreements between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
The text of his speech was made available in Nicosia on Tuesday.
"It would be wrong to throw into the dustbin the United Nations parameters for a solution...But we will not continue negotiations for another 50 years," Akinci said.
His statement brought relief to Greek and Turkish Cypriots who support the resumption of negotiations to end the 43-year-long partition of Cyprus.
Turkey maintains troops on Cyprus since 1974, when Turkey occupied its northern part in a military operation prompted by a Greek-inspired coup.
The UN has said it stands ready to preside over further negotiations once the parties involved made a request.
However, it is expected that negotiations will restart only after presidential elections in Cyprus are over in early February.
The current President Nicos Anastasiades, who is seeking a second term, said on Tuesday: "From statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, I gather that he also expects, like we do, that after the elections, a new initiative will take place on Cyprus."
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides also said he was informed by his Greek counterpart Nicos Kotzias that Cavusoglu agreed with him to have consultations on the security issue ahead of any new negotiations.
