ANKARA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday welcomed a decision taken by Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to start comprehensive peace negotiations to end years of division of Cyprus.

    "We are pleased that the two leaders decided during their meeting today to start comprehensive negotiations on September 3" under UN auspices aimed at the reunification of Cyprus, the ministry said in a statement.

    The ministry said Turkey always supports comprehensive talks within the framework of the UN good-will mission and based on UN parameters such as a bi-zonal state structure, political equality and a new partnership to be formed by two founder states.

    The ministry also expressed hope that the activities of technical committees tasked to tackle the Cyprus issue would yield positive outcomes.

    During their meeting at the UN-controlled buffer zone in the Cyprus capital of Nicosia on Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias decided to launch full-fledged peace talks on Sept. 3, aiming to find a permanent solution to the Cyprus issue.

    Friday's meeting is the fourth between the two leaders since they met for the first time to revive the peace process in March.

    On March 21, the two leaders agreed to establish several working groups and technical committees towards a solution in the island.

    On July 1, Christofias and Talat held talks on single sovereignty and citizenship, two key issues for future reunification negotiations.

    They agreed to discuss the details of the implementation during full-fledged negotiations and to meet on July 25 to undertake a final review of the preparatory work for substantive talks to reunify the east Mediterranean island.

    The Greek Cypriots have recently underlined the importance of a clear common basis on which the two leaders will be able to launch full-fledged negotiations.

    They maintained that a viable solution would be a federal united republic of Cyprus, bi-zonal and bi-communal, with one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international personality.

    The Turkish Cypriot leadership stressed a reunited Cyprus should be established on "a Turkish Cypriot constituent state and a Greek Cypriot constituent state with political equality."

    Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish military intervened and controlled the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

    In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot authorities declared the establishment of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which is recognized only by Ankara.

    Turkey maintains some 40,000 troops in the self-proclaimed "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," which remains a key issue in the revived peace process aimed at reunifying the island.

    For several decades, the UN has continuously worked to persuade the two communities to find a solution to the Cyprus issue, which is also a main obstacle to Turkey's EU membership ambitions.