Papadopoulos eliminated in Cyprus vote

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos was eliminated in the first round of a presidential election yesterday, meaning there will be a run-off between two candidates who both want talks on re-uniting the island.

The vote is key to efforts to bring back together the war-divided Mediterranean island and to Turkey's European Union aspirations. Analysts said Mr Papadopoulos's elimination signalled Greek Cypriots are ready to return to the negotiationg table. Right wing backed Ioannis Kassoulides and Communist Demetris Christofias pledge a more conciliatory approach to the island's estranged Turkish Cypriots, who have lived separately since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

The run-off will be on February 24.

"If you want to extract a political message out of it, 65 per cent of Greek Cypriots voted for clear pro-solution candidates," said political analyst Hubert Faustmann. "The Greek Cypriots are back at the negotiation table."