NICOSIA - The two parties of an outgoing coalition government in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have reached a preliminary deal to renew their alliance, officials said Monday.
Delegates from the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) of outgoing premier Mehmet Ali Talat and the Democrat Party (DP) of Serdar Denktash said after talks late Sunday they had agreed their parties should receive seven and three portfolios, respectively, in the new government.
CTP secretary-general Ferdi Sabit Soyer told reporters after a meeting of party executives Monday that the deal was expected to be finalized on Tuesday.
The party also decided to nominate Talat, a dovish politician who advocates a settlement to the three-decade division of Cyprus, as its candidate for presidential elections on April 17, Soyer said.
Incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, often criticized for intransigence in peace talks with rival Greek Cypriots, has said he will not run for a new term.
Talat solidified his position in Turkish Cypriot politics in early polls on February 20, in which his party came first, winning 24 seats in the 50-member TRNC parliament on pledges of reviving peace talks to end the Cyprus conflict.
The DP obtained six seats.
Talat's election victory was seen as a sign of strong support by Turkish Cypriots for the island's reunification and European Union membership.
The internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot south joined the European bloc in May 2004.
If elected president, Talat would become the chief Turkish Cypriot negotiatior in any future peace talks with the Greek Cypriots.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied its northern third following a Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the eastern Mediterranean island with Greece.
03/07/2005 21:54 GMT