Cyprus dismissed suggestions yesterday that a reunification deal for the Mediterranean island should be reached before the Oct. 3 start of European Union membership talks with Turkey.

In any new round of unification talks, however, the European Union ''should have a more effective role in the negotiation," Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos said. ''I think they would be helpful," he told reporters, adding, however, that the search for a unity plan acceptable to both sides should remain ''under the UN umbrella." Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 to foil an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot coup seeking to unite the island with Greece. The government in the south is internationally recognized while Turkey is the sole nation to recognize the northern government.