Brussels, 01/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 1 March, the European Commission welcomed the positive outcome of the meeting in Paris on 28 February between UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, during which both men agreed that the search for a solution to the partition of the island should be continued under the aegis of the United Nations. After the failed referendum on reunification in April 2004, the UN does not yet wish to formally launch into new official negotiations between the two parties (it will only do so if there is a real chance of success, which is not yet the case). It was nonetheless decided, in Paris on Wednesday, that the two communities will have bilateral talks at technical level with a view to preparing the ground for negotiations at a later date. “The European Commission supports the idea of resuming talks under the auspices of the UN. We therefore welcome the result of the discussions that were held in Paris (…). It is encouraging to hear that the leaders of both communities on the island agree to begin dialogue on technical subjects. We feel that this dialogue can create the confidence necessary to lead to the resumption of discussions on the division of Cyprus”, said the spokesperson for Commissioner Olli Rehn (enlargement). Kofi Annan announced in Paris that he planned to appoint a new special representative for the question of Cyprus in the near future. In the Turkish media, the name of Nigerian Professor Ibrahim Gambari is already being mentioned. Mr Gambari is currently Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the UN.