US warns Greek Cypriots

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States would not leave Turkish Cypriots "out in the cold" if voters in that sector voted yes and Greek Cypriots voted no. He said he could not offer specifics.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, however, cautioned that it was in "the very best interests" of both sides to support the proposal.

"I can see no advantage to voting ‘No’ at this time. There is no Plan B. There is nothing coming along to substitute for this plan," Powell told reporters.

Recent opinion polls indicate 70 percent of Greek Cypriots oppose the U.N. plan, while 60 percent of Turkish Cypriots support it.

The main Greek Cypriot objections are that the plan limits the right of Greek Cypriot refugees to return, while allowing tens of thousands of Turkish settlers introduced to the occupied north since the 1974 Turkish invasion to remain.

Leaders of both sides of the island have rejected the proposal, but its fate will be determined in separate referendums on April 24 — a week before Cyprus is to join the EU. If either side rejects it, EU laws and benefits will apply only to the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south of the island.

Greece’s new conservative government expressed cautious support Thursday for the proposal.

"The positive elements may prove to be stronger than the negative," Premier Costas Caramanlis said. "We must not let the injustices prevent us from looking forward."

Turkey said Thursday it would launch a worldwide campaign for the recognition if the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state if Greek Cypriots reject the U.N. plan. Turkey is the only country that officially recognizes Turkish Cyprus.

"We will travel the whole world and do everything we can to get Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus recognized," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said, adding that it would be unfair to punish Turkish Cypriots if Greek Cypriots vote against the proposal.

Representatives of more than 30 nations and organizations at the preparatory conference, hosted by the EU, were making a needs assessment ahead of a full-fledged donors conference planned for later this year.

The U.N. plan devised by envisages a single state made up of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot federal zones linked through a weak central government.

Some 16,000 to 18,000 households are expected to move because of "territorial adjustments" called for in the plan, meaning in some cases entire new towns or villages will need to be built.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener estimated another 50,000 Turkish Cypriots will need to move because of the reinstatement of property to the previous, Greek Cypriot owners — despite the limits on the numbers allowed to return.

Non-Cypriots — mainly from Turkey — who don’t receive permanent residence also will be eligible for a grant of no less than the equivalent of $11,900 for a family of four to return to their country of origin.

"It would not be fair to expect Turkey to shoulder the full financial burden," Sener said.

The U.S. aid still needs congressional approval, but Natsios said there was "widespread support" in Congress for the settlement.

"The money will be there — if the vote takes place," he said.