Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 00-11-20

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

Monday, 20 November 2000

CONTENTS

• [01] Swedish Foreign Minister: we must stick to what we decided at Helsinki
• [02] Belgian Senate calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus
• [03] Cyprus Foreign Minister: the decisions taken at Helsinki are binding

[01] Swedish Foreign Minister: we must stick to what we decided at Helsinki

Speaking at a joint press conference in Nicosia on 17 November, after talks with her Cypriot counterpart Mr Ioannis Kasoulides, Mrs Lindh, whose country will be presiding over the European Union from January 2001, said that she is touring all the EU candidate countries because it is important to get their assessment on the European Commission's Strategy report.

The Swedish Foreign Minister said that for the Swedish Presidency enlargement is the main and first priority, adding that her country also attaches great importance to the effort to conclude as many chapters as possible, starting with the difficult issues concerning negotiations and concluding them as soon as possible.

Mrs Lindh also said that during her visit she had the opportunity to discuss the Cyprus problem with President Clerides and with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Rauf Denktash. "Sweden attaches great importance to the UN-led proximity talks on the Cyprus problem", she added.

Asked about her meeting with Mr Denktash she said she conveyed the message to him that both sides on the island must be constructive in the UN-led talks and reiterated that everybody wants to see a political solution for Cyprus but at the same time the solution is not a precondition for accession.

For his part, Mr Kasoulides said that with Mrs Lindh they discussed the Cyprus problem and efforts to reach a settlement, as well as the island's European Union accession course.

Sweden "considers the enlargement process as one of the main important tasks of its Presidency, where all the difficult chapters for negotiations will open", he said.

The Cyprus Foreign Minister also said that Cyprus is looking forward to the next semester, in order to be able to provisionally conclude negotiations on a substantial number of chapters.

[02] Belgian Senate calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus

In a resolution tabled jointly by Philippe Monfils and Ludwig Siquet and adopted unanimously by 55 Senators on 16 November, the Senate expresses support for the Government of Cyprus in its efforts to find a settlement on the basis of UN resolutions and to accede to the European Union.

Moreover, the Senate urges the Belgian government to include the Cyprus issue in its agenda when it assumes the rotating EU Presidency in the second half of next year, and to mediate so that the Cyprus problem may be included in Turkey's accession partnership with the EU.

[03] Cyprus Foreign Minister: the decisions taken at Helsinki are binding

Mr Kasoulides was commenting on a statement made by the President of the European Commission Mr Romano Pronti, during an interview to the Greek newspaper "Ethnos" on 19 November, that the accession of Cyprus to the European Union with the Cyprus problem remaining unsolved would create a lot of problems.

The Cyprus Foreign Minister stressed that the decisions taken at Helsinki are binding on the European Commission and on its President, and noted that for the accession of Cyprus it is the member countries which will decide and not the Commission.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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