Despite speaking cautiously in regards to the possible impacts on the Cyprus issue of Moscow's Tuesday decision to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions, as independent states, visiting Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said yesterday he expected the developments in Caucasia to have an impact on the Cyprus issue

Talat was speaking at a joint press conference following his talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gül. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan also participated in the two leaders' meeting, which took place only days before a meeting between Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias, scheduled for Sept. 3, when the two will launch comprehensive reunification talks after decades of separation.

The South Ossetia and Abkhazia issue and the Cyprus issue, likewise the Kosovo issue and the Cyprus issue, are all separate issues which should be dealt with one by one, Talat said when asked about the probable impact of developments in the Caucasus on the Cyprus issue.

"Speaking frankly, I believe that it may have an impact, but at this very moment I cannot predict in which direction this [impact] will be," Talat said.

Responding to the same question, Gül said the Cyprus issue has had "more specific, more positive and more advantageous aspects," when compared to the developments in the Caucasus.

"This issue is not a consequence of the Cold War era. It is completely separate from the crisis that emerged recently. Second, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots established the Republic of Cyprus at the time as partners. They were partners when the state was founded. Problems emerged since the partnership didn't function and since conditions of partnership were not met and this is the reason that led to separation," Gül elaborated.

"Another point which needs care is the fact that there is a negotiation process at the UN, one that has been going on for many years. That is to say, legislation has been made. A referendum was held by the mutual will of both sides. Taking all of these facts into consideration, I hope that everyone will see that the Cyprus issue is a much more just and much more legitimate issue in regard to Turkish Cypriots," Gül added. Talat, meanwhile, also said he hoped a solution to the problem of ethnically divided Cyprus could be found by the end of the year.

"We aim to solve the Cyprus problem within 2008. We think that a solution is possible in this short timeframe. We will be at the table with all our goodwill," Talat said. Divided after a Turkish intervention, triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup, Cyprus has frustrated a long list of mediators attempting to reconcile the island's two communities.

Peace talks had been in limbo since Greek Cypriots in the south rejected a UN unification blueprint in 2004, accepted by northern Turkish Cypriots. The climate has improved dramatically since the election of Christofias in presidential elections in February, replacing hard-liner Tassos Papadopoulos. Christofias, whose party has maintained close ties with Turkish Cypriots, is generally viewed as more moderate on reunification.

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