Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-01-16

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] CyBC gets new boss

[02] Future strategy on Athens talks

[03] Cyprus, Russia to sign economic agreement

[04] UN Cyprus envoy arrives for intensive talks

[05] British Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary to visit Cyprus

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[01] CyBC gets new boss

Soteriades was chosen by the CyBC administrative board yesterday and is to be offered a three-year contract subject to approval by the Council of Ministers.

Internal Auditor for the semi-governmental corporation since 1989, Soteriades takes over from George Potamitis, who retired from the post last April.

Soteriades studied law in Athens and later accounting in Britain, where he worked at a large London accounting firm for a number of years.

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[02] Future strategy on Athens talks

President Clerides leaves for Athens this afternoon. The two leaders will hold talks tomorrow afternoon. The Cypriot President will return on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to Cyprus radio, Cassoulides said there is no formal agenda as such but noted that President Clerides and Premier Simitis will discuss ways ''to deal with developments in the next few months, as these emerge during negotiations for a settlement, widely expected to begin later this year.''

Talks, he said, will be conducted on the basis of a document prepared by high ranking Greek government officials with a paper President Clerides had already prepared on the current situation.

''What is important is the actual talks and the exchange of views and ideas about future moves in the efforts for a political settlement in Cyprus,'' Cassoulides said.

He explained that the government's decision to buy anti-aircraft missiles from Russia, the ongoing military dialogue and a US-backed proposal for a ban of overflights by Greek and Turkish military planes over Cyprus will also be on the agenda in Athens.

Referring in particular to the US proposal, Cassoulides made it clear the ''issue is still open to discussion and it needs to be examined by Cyprus and Greece.''

''We are not prejudiced one way or another, our position will also depend on the views we will hear in Athens,'' he explained.

Commenting on US moves to push the Cyprus peace process forward, Cassoulides said the American administration believes its own initiatives will be greatly encouraged ''if measures indicating that the two sides intend to carry out serious talks are taken.''

One such measure, he added, would be the contribution of both sides to a reduction of tension.

Turkish troops have been occupying 37 per cent of Cyprus territory since 1974, in violation of repeated UN resolutions calling for their withdrawal.

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[03] Cyprus, Russia to sign economic agreement

The Cypriot Minister will visit Russian in April to hold talks with Russian officials and sign the agreement.

Christodoulou and Russian Ambassador to Cyprus, Georgi Muratov, met today to lay the groundwork for the Minister's upcoming visit to Russia and to discuss furthering economic ties between the two countries.

The Cypriot Minister said preparations have already been made for the signing of the agreement, adding that the European Bank of Development and Reconstruction will cooperate on the matter.

Muratov stated that cooperation between Cyprus and Russia on trade and economic matters is progressing very positively with possibilities for further cooperation, covering not only the Aegean, but the Black Sea region as well which is historically and culturally linked to Hellenism.

As far as the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles to be acquired by the Cyprus Republic, the Russian ambassador said the contract for their sale will be kept, but avoided commenting on US official Carey Cavanaugh's statement made yesterday that the missiles will not finally be installed on the island.

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[04] UN Cyprus envoy arrives for intensive talks

The UN also believes that a breakthrough is on the cards on a package of measures to reduce tension on the island.

Announcing Han's visit, UN top envoy in Cyprus, Gustave Feissel, said Han's week-long visit aims at ''trying to move the process forward in a year described as good for Cyprus.''

Feissel said the visit ''is part of our intensified effort to prepare the ground for direct talks as soon as possible.''

He said there are ''time restraints'' in the UN effort, such as the presidential elections in February next year and Cyprus' accession negotiations with the European Union.

''We are approaching a defining moment in the Cyprus question and it would be wrong to think the situation can continue like this for any more decades,'' Feissel told the press after a meeting here today with President Glafcos Clerides.

Commenting on the ongoing military dialogue between the National Guard and the Turkish occupation forces, Feissel appeared optimistic that an agreement on the UN measures is imminent and said ''what I heard today has reinforced my optimism.''

''I hope as discussions continue in the coming days and week that we are going to see some dramatic change in what we hear on both sides,'' Feissel said.

Asked why no agreement has been reached so far, Feissel said the preferences of each side, involved in the dialogue, differ and added ''as it is often the case here, they have coordinated their positions very carefully to make sure that each likes something else.''

He said the UN has made it clear to both that agreement must be reached ''on the entire package'' of measures and not just on one of the three proposals under discussion, which include the extension of the unmanning to cover the length of the demarcation line, the removal of loaded weapons and a code of conduct.

The UN, he added, has also warned both sides that if they continue to insist on agreement on a specific item, this would be tantamount to a rejection of the measures and refusal to discuss them.

''The only way to proceed is to discuss and reach agreement on each of them, but we have to reach agreement on the entire package,'' he added.

The top UN envoy here said the two sides have to discuss all three items on the agenda, any adjustments to harmonise their positions and accelerate the pace of the talks.

Asked to say how the UN intends to safeguard the safety of Greek Cypriots living in areas to be unmanned, Feissel pointed out that unmanning in the past has proved successful and now it would help rather than create difficulties.

Replying to questions, Feissel said the US-backed proposal for a ban of overflights of Greek and Turkish military planes over Cyprus came up in today's discussions but stressed ''this is not part of our work'' in that it was a US move.

Turkish troops have been occupying 37 per cent of Cyprus territory since 1974, in violation of repeated UN resolutions calling for their withdrawal.

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[05] British Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary to visit Cyprus

Cook is scheduled to meet with Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, House of Representatives President Spyros Kyprianou and other political leaders.

Efforts are being made for a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, at the Ledra Palace hotel situated in the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia.

On his return to London, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, along with Deputy Labour Party leader, John Prescott, will address an open political gathering for London Cypriots on Thursday, January 23.

The event is organized by the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, in cooperation with branch offices of Cypriot political parties in London, AKEL, DIKO and EDEK, under the aegis of the National Cypriot Federation.

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