Athens/Nicosia  - Rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders scrapped annual military exercises on Tuesday in a goodwill gesture amid the ongoing UN-led peace talks aimed at reunifying the divided island.

Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias called off the Greek Cypriot National Guard's "Nikoforos" exercise and hours later Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat followed suit with the cancellation of the Turkish Cypriot "Taurus" military exercise.

Hasan Ercakica, the spokesperson for Talat, said that the Turkish Cypriot side wishes to express its willingness to improve the political atmosphere while it is continuing peace talks.

The military maneuvers have long been the source of tension between the island's two communities which have been partitioned since Turkish forces invaded in 1974 in response to a short-lived coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece.

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

The Greek and Turkish Cypriot governments launched renewed peace talks in September 2008, but they have made slow progress. There is concern that the island is sliding towards permanent partition, a situation that could severely strain both Turkey-EU relations and those between Ankara and Athens.(dpa)