UN-sponsored Cyprus reunification talks were cancelled on Thursday after President Demetris Christofias called off all his engagements for the day because of a stiff neck.

The Cyprus president and Greek Cypriot leader was told by his doctor that he needed "medication, rest and restricted movement", a government statement said.

Christofias had been due to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat for a second day in a row after the two men agreed to up the pace of their peace talks, now in a crucial second phase.

Senior aides of the two leaders met instead to continue discussions on governance and international relations in a federal Cyprus.

The Cypriot leaders are now expected to resume their negotiations next week with the international community hoping for a breakthrough by the end of the year.

Progress has been sluggish since the talks were launched in September last year. The two sides remain far apart on the prickly and divisive issues of security, property and territorial land swaps.

The Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup aimed at union with Greece.