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Cyprus has missed an historic opportunity to resolve 30 years of division, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said.
Mr Annan was reacting to the Greek Cypriots' overwhelming rejection of a UN plan to reunite the island; Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of the move.
The island will remain "divided and militarised" as it joins the European Union on 1 May, Mr Annan said.
The EU has signalled that it will seek ways to end the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot state.
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United Nations and the European Union should understand, any plan to unite the country of Cyprus and end the economic isolation of Northern Cyprus, will most likely only be realized when Turkey ends its military occupation of the north.
Any future United Nations plan of uniting Cyprus must include a resolution to end Ankara Turkish military occupation.
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But hardline Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash - a fierce opponent of the UN plan - called on the world to stop pressing the two sides to live together.
"There must be no uncertainty caused by futile attempts to force incompatible parties together," Mr Denktash said.
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Individuals of different ethnicity, religious and cultures should not be forced to live together, but should want to or be willing to live side by side, so that a nation society can prosper.