Athens/Nicosia - Rival leaders in Cyprus said Thursday they will resume peace talks next week after a new round of reunification talks was postponed following a row over Greek Cypriot pilgrims.

The Greek Cypriot government cancelled scheduled talks with Turkish Cypriot side on Thursday after more than 650 Orthodox pilgrims were turned back from an attempt to visit the Agios Mamas church in northern Cyprus for a service.

Greek Cypriot authorities claim the Turkish Cypriots carried out caused border-crossing delays forcing the cancellation of the trip, while the Turkish Cypriots said the pilgrims had disregarded crossing rules.

"The Turkish side must take steps which also match ours when it comes to the negotiations," said Stefanos Stefanou, a spokesperson for the Greek Cypriot government.

He said Greek Cypriot president Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat discussed the issue over the telephone on Thursday and decided to resume peace talks on September 10.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots launched renewed peace talks last September, but the pace has been slow after nearly 40 meetings at an abandoned airport inside the UN-controlled buffer zone.

The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974, sparked by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Greek Cypriots have lived in the south of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots in the north, split by a United Nations-supervised buffer zone which runs through the heart of the island's capital.

The 35-year conflict continues to pose a headache for diplomats. In 2004, Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement blueprint a week before the island joined the EU as a divided state.

Both ethnic communities agree, on paper, to reunite the island's two halves as a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation in the latest round of UN-led peace talks, but disagree on how it will work. Other disputes include the complex issue of property rights lost during the invasion.

Cyprus' leaders have agreed to put any peace deal to a simultaneous referendum in both communities.

EU officials have said that progress in the Cyprus reunification talks will be essential to move Turkey's slow-moving EU accession process forward.

Ankara's EU membership talks, which began in October 2005, have been partially frozen because of the situation on the island.

Turkey does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government and supports the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyprus where it has stationed more than 40,000 troops.

Greek Cypriots say they will not agree to Turkey joining the bloc as long as the island is partitioned. Ankara's progress in membership talks will be assessed later this year. (dpa)