Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-04-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] Too early to judge outcome of talks

[02] Clubs arrive for European Cup final

[03] UN envoy on Cyprus steps down

[04] Cyprus in Euro-Mediterranean Conference

[05] UN envoy more hopeful than ever

1525:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Too early to judge outcome of talks

The Spokesman also reiterated that the National Council, the top advisory body to President Glafcos Clerides on the handling of the Cyprus question, will assess the outcome of the UN-sponsored proximity talks and decide on future moves.

"It is too early in April to discuss if there is enough common ground to enter into direct talks on the Cyprus problem. Everything will depend on the outcome of the talks when the UN Secretary-General will decide whether to invite or not the parties to the negotiating table," Christofides told his daily briefing.

The National Council, he pointed out, will have the last word.

He said the Council has reached a unanimous decision to evaluate the result of this round of proximity talks and "at that crucial final stage, the governments of Greece and Cyprus together with the Council will assess the outcome (of the talks) and then we shall ascertain whether the conditions for direct talks have been met."

Asked if the government may turn down an invitation to talks from the Secretary-General, Christofides said the UN chief, Kofi Annan, is unlikely to risk extending an invitation for a round of talks, which he believes will not succeed.

Referring to a 1992 set of ideas on all the fundamental aspects of the Cyprus problem, presented to both sides by Annan's predecessor, the Spokesman said "the UN and the UN Secretary-General have never asked us to continue these talks on the basis of the set of ideas."

The Greek Cypriot side has rejected the ideas, he added, but acknowledges that it contains some "positive elements".

"If similar positive elements are placed before us at the negotiating table, these will be discussed," Christofides said.

The Turkish Cypriot side still maintains that the set of ideas provides common ground between the two sides and attempts to base the current talks on them.

CNA MM/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1800:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Clubs arrive for European Cup final

Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid and Italy's upstart Riello Verona arrived on chartered flights at 1300 local time (1000 GMT) and 1415 respectively, ferrying with them the hope they will leave clutching the Eurocup.

"Anything can happen, its a final. In Italy, we never say we're going to win. It's bad luck," Verona forward, Giacomo Galanda, told CNA following a press conference at Nicosia's Hilton hotel announcing the clubs' arrival.

Although not as experienced as their Spanish rivals in big continental games, Verona is confident it can duke it out with the best Europe has to offer and still come out on top.

"We don't have a doubt that we belong in this final. We've beaten the best teams in Italy like Team System Bologna. We can play with the teams that belong at the top in Europe," Verona forward, Joachim Jerichow told CNA.

Neither does Riello Verona brood on their inexperience at this calibre of play, sporting some players like Michael Iuzzolino with National Basketball Association (NBA) game time under his belt.

As far as playing in a neutral court, players agree that both teams are on relatively even terms, since not a lot of home supporters made it to Cyprus for the big final.

"It's pretty much the same for both teams," Galanda said.

The mighty Real Madrid are themselves not too cocky as to right off Verona even before the game began, careful to assess both their strengths and weaknesses of their opponent.

"They have a lot of players that can kill you from the outside, but we have a better bench and a better inside game," Real guard, Pablo Laso Biurrun, told CNA.

Biurrun was quick to dismiss a David and Goliath mismatch between his club and Verona stressing the fact that "a team that gets to the final, already has experience".

The Real guard said his club's strategy is one of control, setting the pace early in the game.

"We want to control their shooters. That's going to be the most important part of our defensive game. On offence, we have to look for the better option. It's not going to be over in ten minutes,", Biurrin said.

He also said a neutral court renders fan support irrelevant in the big match.

"It's doesn't affect the game much. Not a lot of people came from Madrid or Italy. I would love for people from Cyprus to come and enjoy the game. It will be spectacular," Biurrin said.

The game bounces off tomorrow at 2030 local time, at Nicosia's newly- built Eleftheria Indoor Stadium and will be carried live by Eurovision in several European countries.

CNA MH/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1815:CYPPRESS:03

[03] UN envoy on Cyprus steps down

The former South Korean Foreign Minister was appointed in May last year.

He told a press conference here today that due to the growing level of intensity of efforts aimed at bringing together the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, it would be better to have someone who would devote "more time, more presence and would be more involved" in the ongoing effort.

Han cited "his other responsibilities" and the distance between Cyprus and Seoul as difficulties that impede his task as Special Representative.

"I have told the Secretary-General that I do not wish to be considered for an extension once my initial period of appointment is completed at the end of April," he said.

"Coming from a divided country myself, I do not underestimate the delicate complexities involved in trying to balance both internal and external pressures and interests," he said on his final visit to the island as Special Cyprus envoy.

The responsibilities and challenges of your two leaders (President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash) are daunting, Han said.

The South Korean diplomat called on Cypriots of both communities to "provide their leaders with the support and encouragement they need to negotiate a settlement."

Han said both community leaders have "love and devotion" to their respective communities and expressed the hope that this will "translate into a negotiated settlement that will benefit both communities by ensuring security, equality and prosperity for all Cypriots."

CNA MM/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1900:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Cyprus in Euro-Mediterranean Conference

Valletta, Apr 14 (CNA) -- The Foreign Ministers and other high ranking officials from 27 countries have began arriving in Valletta, Malta, for the second Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Foreign Ministers, beginning tomorrow.

The conference aims at improving relations and cooperation between the 15 European Union (EU) countries and their 12 Mediterranean partners.

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides will represent Cyprus in this two-day meeting. It is his first official trip abroad since he assumed office last week.

On the sidelines of the conference, Cassoulides is expected to have private meetings with some of his counterparts, mainly from the EU member- states.

Cassoulides, due to arrive here this evening, will speak after the opening ceremony tomorrow, during which all Foreign Ministers will make a short address.

He is expected to mention the protracted Cyprus problem, as the Valletta Conference is not considered as the forum through which efforts for a solution in Cyprus can be promoted.

The Cypriot Minister is expected to speak on the economic field during the working session to be held on the second and last day of the conference, on Wednesday.

The other two hour-long working session, which will be attended by all participants, will deal with the political aspect and the social and cultural fields.

According to sources, following EU-Mediterranean Partnership issues, the delegates are expected to give emphasis on the third field of cooperation, social and cultural, on which it is more easy for the partners to reach agreement and where practical steps could be taken.

During the conference, the participants are expected to discuss and reaffirm their support to a Charter of Peace and Stability as well as to a series of confidence and security building measures.

However, it is not yet known whether a decision will be taken for the signing of the Charter during the next ministerial meeting, scheduled to take place in 1999, in Germany, as discussions are still going on among member-states.

CNA has learned that Cyprus agrees with the Charter of Peace and Stability, which will be based on the UN Charter and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) principles.

The 27 ministers will also take stock of the achievements of the Euro- Mediterranean Partnership established in Barcelona, where the first conference was held in 1995. They will chart the course for future development and try give a new boost to the whole process.

In Barcelona the EU and its 12 southern partners declared their intention to establish a durable and stable partnership in order to consolidate peace and stability in the Mediterranean, based on economic progress, dialogue, mutual comprehension and respect.

An issue of concern at the Valletta Conference, is the tensed Israeli - Palestinian relations, after the Israeli decision to build a settlement in East Jerusalem.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, David Levy, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Ben Hally, and other Arab Foreign Ministers are expected to attend the conference.

CNA MA/GP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2150:CYPPRESS:05

[05] UN envoy more hopeful than ever

Han also considers that once direct negotiations begin and become productive, the actual negotiating process will help to "transcend" presumed time deadlines and facilitate an agreed settlement on the protracted Cyprus problem.

Speaking at a press conference here Monday, on his final visit to Cyprus as UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cyprus, Han said "I am much more optimistic now than in my previous visit" and noted that "there are more pieces than before that would enable such a meeting to take place and make it productive and successful."

This feeling, he said, "is more than a wish. Now it is somewhat more than a hope."

He said the preparatory process will go on and hopefully it will lead to face-to-face talks in the not so far away future and pointed out that a meeting between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash aims "to find a comprehensive settlement."

Han said it would be "very difficult to anticipate how long and what kind of process it will take for an agreement to be reached", when asked if he thought the four-month period between a possible Clerides-Denktash meeting in June and the start of the presidential campaign in September (ahead of February's 1998 elections) would be enough to find a negotiated settlement.

"But even as we talk about the presumed deadline, whether it is because of elections or external matters, once the process has started, and it becomes productive, I think it will be able to transcend the deadline you are talking about one way or another," Han noted.

"It is more a question of whether the two sides can get together and gaps filled than whether there is enough time to do that before a presumed deadline," he added.

Invited to give some more information about good will gestures, Han said "reciprocity and comprehensiveness are two requirements" that should be met to hope to have progress towards good will measures and a settlement.

The UN envoy was very careful in his assessment of the absence of a settlement and said he did not believe it was "fair to put blame on anyone person on the lack of good will or political will."

"I think all the pieces should come together and the UN will continue to do that, the pieces in the puzzle seem to be coming together a little better than they have been so far," he added.

Commenting on a UN set of ideas on the fundamental aspects of the Cyprus question, Han said "some parts, some concepts of the set will inevitably be involved in any negotiation."

Asked if his request not to have his office extended was a case of "the captain abandoning a sinking ship", Han said he did not think "the ship is going down."

He also disclosed the UN chief has already started consultations to find a successor but refrained from giving any names of likely successors.

Replying to questions, Han said he had been in close consultation with all the parties concerned and interested in Cyprus and was "completely satisfied with the degree of consultation and coordination with the governments of UK, US and with special representatives for Cyprus."

"I never thought that the increased number of special representatives was any complication to dealing with the problem," he added.

On the US role in efforts to reach a settlement, Han said it was "helpful, very mindful of the UN role" and noted that Europe "is a very important part of this process."

CNA MM/AP/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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