Kyprianou resigns

Markos Kyprianou has resigned as European commissioner for health to take up a new job as foreign minister in Cyprus's new coalition government.

Demetris Christofias, the communist who won the second round of the presidential election on Sunday (24 February) with the support of Kyprianou's nationalist Democratic party, is expected to announce his full cabinet tomorrow (29 February).

Kyprianou's most pressing task will be to work towards reunification of the island, which has been divided since 1974 after an invasion by Turkish troops. During the campaign Christofias pledged to renew contacts with the Turkish Cypriots. His predecessor Tassos Papadopoulos, who was ousted in the first round of voting on 17 February, led Greek Cypriots in voting down a UN reunification plan that was endorsed by Turkish Cypriots in April 2004.

Christofias said after his election that he had contacted the United Nations' Cyprus envoy and that he would hold an "exploratory meeting" with Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader.

JosŽ Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, called on Christofias "to grasp this chance and without delay start negotiations under United Nations auspices with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community on a comprehensive settlement".

Christofias, the Communist candidate, won a run-off with 53% of the vote against the Conservative candidate, Ioannis Kasoulides, a former foreign minister and now a member of the European Parliament, who obtained close to 47% of votes.

Markos Kyprianou has resigned as European commissioner for health to take up a new job as foreign minister in Cyprus's new coalition government.