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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 97-02-12Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>News UpdateWednesday, 12/02/97CONTENTS
[01] Cyprus President responds to Malcolm Rifkind 's concern about a Greco- Turkish war possibilityPresident Glafcos Clerides has dismissed remarks made by British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind that he feared war could break out between Nato allies Greece and Turkey over Cyprus and the Aegean."Any such act would put Turkey in complete disarray with the countries of Europe", Clerides told a news conference in New Delhi, on Tuesday (11.2.97), where he arrived Monday on a six-day visit. "I wish to stress that it will be a serious move if Turkey tried to militarily expand into the Greek part of Cyprus", Clerides said. "Because we have concluded an agreement with Greece on common defence, and that would involve a possibility of war, not merely a war between Cyprus and Turkey, which neither the United States wants, nor Nato nor anybody else, because it would destabilise the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans". In a BBC Radio interview on Monday (10.2.57) Rifkind said: "When relations are already bad and tense and difficult and both sides appear to be looking for an excuse to make them worse, that is pretty grim". "I am not as confident as logic would imply because there has been a real lack of political will on both sides", he added. Rifkind visited Cyprus last December. Clerides rejected Rifkind's claim that both sides were to blame for the Cyprus impasse. "I would refer him to the (UN) Secretary-General's report where he stated the reason that there is no progress in the solution of the Cyprus problem is because of the lack of political will of the Turkish Cypriot leadership", Clerides said. "He said his good offices could do nothing when one side, the Turkish side, flouts international opinion". Greece also reacted to the British Foreign Secretary's comments: "The suggestions should be addressed to Turkey, which has an occupation force on Cyprus, violates our airspace and threatens to use force in the Aegean in violation of international law", Greece's Press and Information Minister Dimitris Reppas told reporters in Athens. [02] Party leaders said Britain should act on Turkish aggressionLeaders of all Greek Cypriot political parties rejected British Foreign Secretary' remarks that neither side in the Cyprus dispute has the political will for a solution.Political party leaders criticised Britain, one of the three guarantor powers of Cyprus' independence (along with Greece and Turkey) for not fulfilling its obligations towards Cyprus. They also called on Britain to exert pressure on Turkey to cooperate in efforts to reach a solution of the protracted Cyprus question. Speaking to BBC Radio Four, on Monday (10.11.97), Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said there was a serious possibility of a war between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus and a chance the two countries may go to war over the Aegean as well. He also said there has been a real lack of political will on both sides. Commenting on Rifkind's statements, the President of the House of Representatives Spyros Kyprianou said "it is unacceptable to put Greece and Turkey on an equal footing". "Rifkind's statement is an unacceptable tactic to create tension and a method to exert pressure on Cyprus and Greece", Kyprianou told the Cyprus News Agency on Tuesday (11.2.97). Athens, he pointed out, has the political will to settle the Cyprus problem, whereas Ankara "not only lacks the political will but also appears unwilling to abandon its expansionist policy". Kyprianou said the Cyprus problem "is not an issue between Greece and Turkey, but an international problem of invasion and occupation". Ruling right wing Democratic Party deputy leader, Nicos Anastasiades, said Rifkind's statements "do not exempt Britain from her obligations as a guarantor power" and called on Britain to exert pressure on Turkey to stop creating instability in the wider region. Opposition left-wing party, AKEL, described Rifkind's statements as "one- sided" and noted that he overlooks the fact that the Turkish side's intransigence is to blame for the lack of progress toward a Cyprus solution. Socialist party leader, Vasos Lyssarides, said that Britain is putting both countries in the same boat, instead of looking for the guilty party. [03] President Clinton sees U.S. as facilitator for a Cyprus solutionU.S. President Bill Clinton has stated that he sees his government's role as a "facilitator" towards a settlement of the Cyprus problem, for which the two sides have to play the main role.Receiving the credentials of the new Cypriot Ambassador to Washington, Andros Nicolaides, on Monday (10.2.97), President Clinton said: "In the coming year, we will assess developments in the region and consider how the United States can join with the international community to facilitate an intercommunal agreement on Cyprus. Our aim is to see the two Cypriot communities reconciled and to promote lasting stability in the eastern Mediterranean. Nonetheless, our role can be that of facilitator only. It will be up to the people of Cyprus, with the support of Greece and Turkey, to conclude a durable agreement that will meet their needs equitably. In this endeavor, Cyprus can be assured of the backing and good will of the United States". He also referred to the violent incidents of summer 1996 which, he said, has "heightened tensions to their worst level since 1974 and was yet another reminder to the danger of the status quo on the island". [04] Cyprus dispute threatens US vital interests, says AlbrightUS Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has said that the long-standing conflict in Cyprus "divides more than the two Cypriot communities; it continues to act as a wedge between two NATO allies, Turkey and Greece In so doing, it threatens European stability and our vital interests".Referring to Cyprus, in her written statement before the House International Relations Committee yesterday, she said last year's increased violence on the island impeded efforts to restart negotiations, but it "also dramatized the urgent need for a lasting solution. "Accordingly", she said, "the United States is prepared to play a larger role in promoting a resolution to the conflict". She added, however, that for such an effort to yield results, the parties must agree to concrete steps that will reduce tensions, build confidence and make productive negotiations possible. [05] Cyprus President addresses Indian Chambers of Industry and CommercePresident Glafcos Clerides, speaking to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, during his 5-day official visit there, said that Cyprus, being at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, "has the potential to become a cultural, economic and political bridge between East and West. This "bridge-building" role, the history and culture of Cyprus, the availability of highly educated professionals, the excellent communications network and well-functioning infrastructure, and a legal system based on internationally accepted principles of jurisprudence, are all elements which enable Cyprus to become a stepping stone for those looking for openings in European markets."The Cyprus Government, he added, "is in the process of liberalising further its investment policy. Under the new policy, administrative procedures will become much simpler. In most cases, foreign participation of up to 100 percent will be permitted." He also referred to the island's ranking as third among the international ship registries and fourth among the world's merchant fleets with about 2.780 ships equivalent to almost 27 million gross tonnage. Referring to trade links between Cyprus and India President Clerides said that these are carried out through a General Agreement on Economic, Commercial Scientific, Technical and Industrial Bilateral Agremment signed in 1989. The Second Session of the Indo-Cypriot Joint Committee on Economic, Trade, Scientific, Technical and Industrial Cooperation was successfully concluded in November 1996, thus bringing the two countries even closer in these domains. [06] Cyprus India sign Maritime Transport agreementForeign Minister Alecos Michaelides and Indian Minister of Surface Transport, T.G. Venkataraman today signed a bilateral agreement on Maritime Transport, expected to improve shipping links between the two countries.The agreement aims to facilitate and accelerate maritime traffic between the two countries, and is described, by an Indian Transport Ministry press release as "a positive step in the direction of improving shipping links between India and Cyprus." The agreement provides for the recognition of seamen's identity documents, issued by the contracting parties, and offers them port facilities. A Joint Commission will be set up to oversee the effective implementation of the Agreement and consider matters of mutual interest related to maritime transport. Cyprus and India have signed a number of bilateral agreements to date, covering the commercial, agricultural, tourism and investment sectors. In 1989, the two countries signed an Agreement for Economic, Commercial, Scientific and Industrial Cooperation, through which a Cyprus -Indian Intergovernmental Committee was established. Agreements in agriculture and tourism were signed in 1992 and 1996, respectively, while an agreement to avoid double taxation, was signed in 1994. Two other agreements on direct flights and the promotion and protection of investments are still pending. From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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