NICOSIA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Greek Cypriot parties on Friday gave the go ahead to the island's President Demetris Christofias to continue discussions with the Turkish Cypriot community on solving the Cyprus problem, despite poor results in an accelerated round of negotiations earlier this week.

    Cyprus' National Council, a consultative body to the President made up of parliamentary party leaders and past presidents of the state, met Friday to take stock of three-days of intense discussions and charter a course for the future.

    President Christofias, also the island's Greek Cypriot leader, held three-day intensive talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat earlier this week. Christofias said after the completion of the talks he could not say that the two sides were any closer on the central issue of governance and power sharing.

    Christofias and Talat scheduled another three-day round of intensive negotiations on January 25.

    The leaders of Greek Cypriot parties, including two of the three-party government coalition, demanded that Christofias withdraws proposals he had made on a rotating state presidency and accepting up to 50,000 settlers from mainland Turkey to remain in Cyprus after reaching a solution.

    However, the government spokesman said after the National Council's meeting that Christofias had rejected the demand.

    "It is an issue of both substance and tactics...It would not be right to withdraw proposals while negotiations are continuing," he added.

    The proposals were submitted by Christofias in a document he tabled at the talks after the Turkish Cypriot side had submitted its own proposals.

    The Greek Cypriot side rejected the Turkish Cypriot proposals as being outside the scope of the agreed basis of negotiations, claiming they are leading to a two-state confederation and not a federal state.

    The government spokesman announced that Christofias will submit further proposals on the issues of economy, relations with the European Union and the future of properties abandoned by their owners in the wake of the 1974 Turkish military intervention, in response to a coup by Greek army officers.

    He also said Christofias will convey to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou a suggestion by Cypriot party leaders for an enlarged meeting of the National Council, with the participation of Greek political leaders.

    Christofias and Papandreou will meet in Athens on Monday to make an appraisal of the negotiations and decide on future action, including a common position towards Turkey's European Union accession negotiations.