"RUSSIA TO BACK KOFI ANNAN'S PLAN FOR CYPRUS REUNIFICATION
MOSCOW, January 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will support the UN Secretary-General's plan of settling the Cyprus issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Turkish businessmen Tuesday.
'We will provide all possible backing to Kofi Annan's plan,' he said.
The Russian president said that he had ventilated the Cyprus issue at a meeting with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, and also during his recent telephone conversation with the UN secretary-general.
The Russian leader stressed that the problem of ending the isolation of North Cyprus (the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) should be tied up with comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue. 'Settlement should meet the interests of all Cypriots residing both in the north and in the south of the island,' Putin said. "
More:Russian Information Agency Novosti
