NICOSIA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of Cyprus concluded three days of intensive negotiations on Wednesday night, without being nearer to solving the long standing Cyprus problem.

    Asked whether the goal of narrowing differences in his talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat had been achieved, Cyprus President and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias replied "not yet."

    "I am very-very cautious to tell you that there have been convergences. I cannot say that we have concrete results, yet the discussion has a meaning," he told reporters after five hours of talks with Talat on Wednesday.

    He added he has got patience for more talks to be held on the 25th, 26th and 27th of January.

    Talar told Turkish Cypriot media that he had an extensive exchange of views with Christofias on governance and power sharing during the past three days, despite the two sides had rejected the each other's written proposals.

    This has been a "useful" interchange of ideas, he added, which enable them to get a better understanding of the position of the other side.

    The United Nations overseeing the negotiations made no comment on the outcome of the talks.

    UN Secretary-General's advisor on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, said an evaluation must await until the intensified negotiations are fully concluded at the end of this month.

    He also announced that advisors to the two leaders will meet before the next round of discussions to continue work on the issues discussed. These had mainly been governance and power sharing between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot Communities.

    US INTERVENTION

    Greek Cypriot sources close to the talks said United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had intervened in the talks, urging the two sides to be flexible on issues being discussed.

    The sources said Hillary Clinton had a telephone conversation with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat Tuesday night and a similar one with President Christofias Wednesday morning, expressing the support of the U.S. government towards efforts for a Cyprus settlement.

    The sources said she spoke of the strategic position of Cyprus, and pointed out that a solution to its political problem will help in bringing peace to the wider area.

    President Christofias asked Mrs. Clinton to exert influence on Turkey to be more forthcoming on the Cyprus problem and work in a practical way towards a solution, the sources said.

    Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers.