Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-08-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[02] Cyprus Minister - Israel

[03] Britain - EU - Cyprus

[04] Hannay - S300 - negotiations - EU accession talks

1510:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Cyprus Stock Exchange

   CSE General Index                          84.71 (-0.20)

   Traded Value            CYP 832,424

   Sectural Indices

   Banks                   CYP   425,685     100.03 (-0.15)
   Approved Investment
   Companies               CYP    19,094      58.84 (-0.05)
   Insurance Companies     CYP    57,299      59.17 (-0.29)
   Manufacturing Companies CYP    40,710      76.02 (-0.08)
   Tourism Companies       CYP    26,459      69.62 (-0.76)
   Trading Companies       CYP     9,065      40.85 (-0.49)
   Other Companies         CYP   179,533      71.19 (-0.25)

CNA MCH/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1515:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Cyprus Minister - Israel

Sources told CNA there will be more meetings on the issue between the two countries.

The two Ministers also discussed immigration and local administration matters.

Interior Minister, Dinos Michaelides who is visiting Israel at the invitation of his Israeli counterpart, Elyxahu Suissa, also had meetings with other top government officials.

Speaking to CNA, Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus, Shemi Tzur, said Michaelides' visit "is going very well" and pointed out that the Cypriot Minister even "exchanged a few words with Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu".

Michaelides and Netanyahu met at the opening of an exhibition in Tel Aviv.

"Yesterday Minister Michaelides had a long meeting with our President Ezer Weizman and they discussed a wide range of issues," Tzur said.

He added that Michaelides also met with the Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, who had recently visited Cyprus.

Tzur said during their meeting Michaelides and the Foreign Ministry Director General briefed each other on the present situation regarding the Cyprus and the Middle-East problem.

Michaelides' three-day official visit ends today but he will stay on in Israel for a short holiday.

CNA MCH/EC/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1840 CYPPRESS:03

[03] Britain - EU - Cyprus

Joyce Quin, Minister of State for Europe, told the House of Commons the Foreign Office welcomes President Clerides' offer to the Turkish Cypriot community and continues "to urge both sides to work actively to promote such participation".

She said, Austrian EU Presidency and British Special Representative for Cyprus, Sir David Hannay, during his recent visit to the island, "discussed with President Clerides the importance of continued efforts to encourage Turkish Cypriot acceptance of his offer."

Replying to questions by Labour MP, Tom Cox, Quin said the British are in "regular contact with the Turkish Cypriot community", including Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, through the British High Commission in Nicosia.

"We continue to urge them (the Turkish Cypriots) to agree with the Greek Cypriot side an arrangement acceptable to both parties allowing their participation in those negotiations", Quin added.

Asked what discussions the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs had with the Turkish government on flights over Cyprus by Turkish military aircraft, Quin replied:

"We have repeatedly made clear to all concerned, including the Turkish government, our concerns about military activity in Cyprus...and urged all parties to refrain from any action, particularly in the vicinity of the buffer zone, which would exacerbate tension."

Cyprus, which applied for full EU membership in July 1990, opened accession talks with the EU in March, 1998.

Last March, President Clerides extended a formal invitation to the Turkish Cypriot side to join the negotiating team, which was rejected by Denktash.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 percent of the island's territory.

CNA KT/EC/MCH/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2150:CYPPRESS:04

[04] Hannay - S300 - negotiations - EU accession talks

In an interview to London Greek Radio (LGR), Sir David also said the idea of a moratorium of flights of military aircraft over Cyprus could be "a step in the right direction".

Stressing the need for resuming negotiations for a bi-zonal, bi- communal, federal Cyprus, Sir David suggested there could be ways of overcoming the demand by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for recognition of his pseudo state, unilaterally declared in the Turkish- occupied part of the island in 1983.

Asked to comment on the pressure experienced by the Cyprus government over its decision to deploy the Russian S300 anti-aircraft missile system, Sir David said Britain took a stand at the very early stages.

"We do not believe this was a helpful development, because we did not believe it really increased the security of Cyprus, which must obviously be the primary objective of any such purchase," he remarked, adding that:

"We think that the more sophisticated weapons become accumulated on the island the more risk there is of military action there."

Sir David said, "increased armament will inevitably be matched by increased armament on the other side, the classical situation that you have during an arms race".

He also claimed that "a very sophisticated system like this (S300) would probably increase the chances of Cyprus being drawn into any confrontation between Greece and Turkey".

"We believe the right way to increase the security of Cyprus is to get to the negotiating table and to get a reduction not an increase," he stressed.

Expressing respect for the Cyprus government's views, the British diplomat reserved his country's right "to have a different opinion about the value of that".

He also claimed that all UN members with the exception of "Russia, which benefits from selling the missiles, Greece and Cyprus which took the decision to buy them," agree with the British view on the issue.

Expressing the hope that "Cypriots would reflect a little bit", Sir David stressed the interest of countries opposing the S300 deployment for the security of Cyprus.

He pointed to their efforts in reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem and their contribution to peace-keeping troops helping to stabilise the situation on the island.

"The reason why we are doubtful about this particular development is, as I say, that we do not think it contributes to the overall objective which we share with the government of Cyprus to have a secure and if possible a reunited island in a bi-communal federal Cyprus," he said.

The Cyprus government ordered the S300 missiles last year in a bid to boost its air defence in view of the heavily armed Turkish troops occupying the island's northern third since they invaded in 1974.

Replying to another question, the British diplomat said that a moratorium on military overflights "would be a step in the right direction".

He noted that the idea of a moratorium was not a new one, "it was in fact applied in a very short time back in 1996."

"It could be re-applied again and it could be a major contribution in resolving some of the difficulties here," he added, pointing out, however, that the governments concerned should be prepared to observe it.

Stressing the need for resumption of negotiations for a Cyprus settlement, Sir David suggested there could be ways of overcoming the problem of the status of the two sides.

Asked to comment on Rauf Denktash's demand for recognition of his puppet regime in order to enter negotiations, Sir David repeated the UN Security Council position, stated last June:

"We want to see a negotiation being resumed. We do not believe the parametres have been fundamentally changed," he said adding that efforts will be made towards Denktash, Ankara and Athens to achieve this objective.

Referring to President Glafcos Clerides, Sir David, said "he does not need much persuasion because he wants to resume the negotiations".

Sir David said there could be ways in which negotiations could resume taking into account "the very juxtaposed views of the two sides about their own status and the status of the other party with which they are negotiating".

"We have to look carefully to see whether that fact can be taken into account when we resume the negotiation," he added and pointed out that:

"In other instances where international negotiations have been required you started without reconciling the views each has about status of the other, and I think you could perhaps use a little imagination in that context."

Refraining from commenting on Denktash's refusal to meet with him, the EU presidency representative expressed the view that "he looses from that" and remarked:

"The Turkish Cypriots do not have so many interlocutors that they can do with not having a dialogue with their friends."

He repeated, however, that it is very important to show that "the European Union has not stopped its dialogue with the Turkish Cypriots and will not stop it. We will try to sustain a dialogue with everyone and anyone who is prepared to talk with us," he said.

Pointing out that President Clerides' proposal for Turkish Cypriot participation in Cyprus-EU accession talks still stands and has been endorsed by the EU, Sir David said:

"We would like to see them at the negotiating table as soon as possible and we would like to see them taking a full voice in determining Cyprus' terms of accession."

The EU presidency representative, said Cyprus' screening process "is proceeding very smoothly" and expressed the view that "some time during the second half of the year it will be possible to move from what I call a pure technical screening exercise to a more substantive phase in which problems are actually addressed and the search for solution to them begin".

Cyprus began accession negotiations with the EU last March. It applied for full EU membership in July 1990.

Sir David refrained from commenting on the European Court of Human Rights decision to order Turkey to pay some 600.000 US dollars compensation to a Greek Cypriot refugee for depriving her the right to peacefully enjoy her property, but remarked:

"Pronouncements by a Court such as the European Court are extremely important and we give great weight to them".

He pointed out, however, that he did not believe "the Cyprus problem is going to be solved in a Court of law, I think the Cyprus problem going to be solved at the negotiating table."

CNA MCH/EC/1998

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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