Fourteen political parties from Cyprus united on reunification

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Relaunched in September 2008 after a four-year hiatus, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias have been involved in reunification talks aimed at reaching an agreement to end the island's decades-long division.

The talks mark the first major push for peace since the failure of a U.N. reunification plan in 2004, which was approved by Turkish Cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots.

The parties representing both communities of the island were quoted by AP as saying in a statement after a meeting of their representatives in Bratislava that they "expressed their full support" for Talat and Christofias.

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1964 when Turkish Cypriots were forced to withdraw into enclaves.