NICOSIA - President Demetris Christofias pledged to continue reunification talks on Tuesday, dismissing criticism from former coalition partner EDEK of tactical blunders in negotiations with estranged Turkish Cypriots.
The Socialist EDEK party quit Cyprus's left-wing coalition government on Monday, accusing Christofias of making unacceptable concessions in peace talks with Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader.
"We are not so close to a solution as some would suggest both here and abroad, but we are working for a solution and this process is ongoing," Christofias said in a statement.
"No one can pre-judge the outcome, and certainly not suggest that we are trapped on a dangerous path. That is unsubstantiated and wrong," Christofias said.
EDEK and the centrist Democratic Party had supported Christofias, a communist party leader, in presidential elections in 2008.
(Reuters)