Cyprus' president says any deal to reunify the ethnically split Mediterranean island nation has to be markedly different to one that was rejected by his Greek-Cypriot community a decade ago.

Nicos Anastasiades says another rejection in a future referendum would be "catastrophic" for Cyprus.

Greek Cypriots turned down a United Nations brokered accord in 2004 that they saw as unfairly weighted against them. Breakaway Turkish Cypriots approved it in a separate referendum.

He told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Monday that a successful conclusion to talks that resumed last week after a 20-month hiatus hinges on preserving his credibility and warned against any pressure that would erode it.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup to unite the island with Greece.