Glafcos Clerides won Cyprus' presidential election on a promise to chart a new course for reuniting the Mediterranean island.
But there are no indications what his stance will mean for U.N. proposals to end the division of the country, cut in two when Turkey invaded in 1974 and occupied the northern 38 percent.Clerides, 73, won a razor-thin victory Sunday and takes office March 1.
The veteran right-wing leader has branded some of the proposals in the U.N. plan disastrous and vows not to start negotiations unless they are amended.
But he stops short of rejecting the proposals outright. Clerides has said it would be unthinkable for Cyprus to directly challenge the U.N. Security Council, which incorporated the proposals in Resolution 789 in November.
He wants to amend provisions in the plan that would restrict the right of 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees to return to their homes in the north. Clerides calls that a violation of human rights.
Talks are scheduled to resume next month with Turkish Cypriot leaders, who also oppose the U.N.'s proposal.