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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-02-27
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Thursday, 27 February 2003 UN Secretary-General arrives in Cyprus to
press on agreement
[02] MacShane: Britain urges parties to secure settlement by 28 February
[03] Non-Aligned Movement adopts text on Cyprus
[01] UN Secretary-General arrives in Cyprus to press on agreement
Concluding his long-term visit to the region, the United Nations Secretary-
General Mr Kofi Annan arrived yesterday in Cyprus. Accompanying Mr. Annan,
who had previously visited Ankara and Athens, were Mr Kieran Prendergast,
Senior Advisor, Ms Elisabeth Lidenmayer, Executive Assistant to the
Secretary-General, Ms Hua Jiang, Spokesperson, Ms Anastasiya Delenda,
Appointment Secretary, Mr Peter Schmitz Political Officer, Mr Eskinder
Debebe, Photographer and Mr Mark Hoffman, Chief Operations Officer. Upon
his arrival at Larnaca Airport and speaking to Greek Cypriot, Turkish
Cypriot and foreign journalists, the Secretary-General made the following
statement: "E am delighted having arrived in Cyprus, at this decisive
moment. When I came here in mid May, I sensed a deep longing to bring an
end to the long-standing dispute that has torn this beautiful island apart,
for decades.
This [yesterday] afternoon, I will be seeing Mr. Papadopoulos, the incoming
Greek Cypriot leader, and Mr. Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, before
calling on Mr. Clerides who has played a distinguished part in public life
here for more than forty years, and whose term in office will shortly come
to an end. I expect to meet them together tomorrow morning. Tomorrow
[today] I will also be meeting all the political leaders, both Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots
were given a draft agreement on 11th November 2002. This was revised on the
10th of December, in the hope that they could agree to it before the
Copenhagen European Council. That opportunity slipped away, unfortunately.
This [yesterday] afternoon I will give them another revision which I hope
to discuss with them tomorrow. Its contents should not come as a surprise
to them. My Special Adviser Alvaro de Soto, whom you all know well, and his
team have gone about the elements which we propose to change with all
concerned in the past week or so. A preview of the proposed changes was
given to them in writing this last Sunday. I pray that the leaders in their
wisdom will come to an agreement in the coming days. This will allow Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to go to the polls on 30th of March in
separate simultaneous referenda, so as to bring into being a new state of
affairs in Cyprus. If this happens, on 16th of April the European Union
Treaty of Accession will be signed on behalf of a reunited Cyprus.
I have come to Cyprus to tell you that the entire international community
is hoping and praying that a Cyprus settlement, so long delayed, is at last
at hand. I believe very strongly that the offer on the table is fair and
balanced, and that a settlement would bring great benefits to both sides,
to the motherlands, to the region and to the world. I hope Greek Cypriots
and Turkish Cypriots alike understand the urgency, of the task at hand. It
is not an exaggeration to say that you have a rendez-vous with destiny."
Following his statement, Mr Annan replied to press questions as follows:
Question: Will you ask the two leaders to answer to you in writing? Answer:
When you say in writing you mean to agree to put their signature down and
that they accept the agreement? Question: I mean the answer to you, whether
they accept your paper or not, to be submitted to you in writing, so you
will have the two leaders/ answers in writing.
Answer: I am going to sit with the two leaders for discussions tomorrow, as
I indicated. I am meeting them individually today and I will sit with them
tomorrow. In these negotiations you proceed to come to conclusion, and we
will follow this, and I think this is very clear to both of them. Question:
What is your deadline for the two leaders to reply to your newly revised
plan? Answer: As I have indicated since I arrived in the region, the
time-frame that we have set is still valid. The time-frame in the sense
that we need to come to an agreement in the next few days and be able to
organise a joint referendum on the 30th of March. I have indicated that the
date of 28th February may slip slightly but definitely not beyond a few
days or maximum a week. The first appointment of the UN Secretary-General,
after his arrival in Cyprus, was with the outgoing Cyprus President, Mr
Glafcos Clerides, at the latter's residence in Nicosia.
Mr Annan then had a meeting with the new President and interlocutor of the
Greek Cypriot side at the talks, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, at the residence
of the Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and
UNFICYP Chief of Mission, Mr Zbigniew Wlosowicz, in the UN-controlled
buffer zone, near the Nicosia airport. Afterwards, he met with the Turkish
Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, at the same residence. During these
meetings, Mr Annan presented Mr Clerides, Mr Papadopoulos and Mr Denktash
with his third revised plan for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus
problem. Today, at 10:00 a.m., the Secretary-General had a joint meeting
with President-elect Mr Tassos Papadopoulos and the Turkish Cypriot leader,
Mr Denktash, at the same location where the direct talks were being held,
near the UN-controlled Nicosia airport. Present at that meeting was
outgoing President Mr Clerides.
After the meeting, Mr Annan's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr Alvaro de Soto,
announced that "the Secretary-General, Mr Papadopoulos and Mr Denktash will
meet tomorrow morning at 10:00". Mr Annan is expected to attend a lunch, at
1:15 p.m. today, with the political party leaders from both communities, at
Mr Wlosowicz's residence.
[02] MacShane: Britain urges parties to secure settlement by 28 February
The British Minister of State for Europe, Dr Denis MacShane MP, said that
his government continued to express its full support for the UN Secretary-
General's 10 December proposals, and urged all parties concerned to secure
a settlement of the Cyprus problem by 28 February, enabling referenda to be
held on both sides of the island and a reunited Cyprus to sign the Treaty
of Accession with the EU on 16 April. Replying to a question on Cyprus
posed by Labour MP and friend of Cyprus Mr Tom Cox, last Monday, Dr
MacShane noted that Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials were in
regular contact with representatives and members of both Greek Cypriot and
Turkish Cypriot communities living in the UK, "in order to discuss the full
range of issues of interest to those communities". "I maintain a close
interest in the settlement process and regularly meet interested parties in
the UK. Most recently, I held a discussion with the Friends of Cyprus Group
on the state of play in the settlement talks", the British Minister
added.
[03] Non-Aligned Movement adopts text on Cyprus
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has adopted the following text on Cyprus, as
part of the final document of its XII Conference of Heads of State or
Government in Kuala Lumpur on 24-25 February: "The Heads of State or
Government reaffirmed all previous positions and declarations of the NAM on
the question of Cyprus. The Movement considered the present status quo in
Cyprus, established through the use of force and sustained by military
strength, as unacceptable and is deeply concerned over the lack of progress
in the search for a just and viable solution to this long-standing question,
primarily due to Turkish intransigence. The Movement noted the recent
ongoing efforts of the United Nations towards finding a just and viable
solution to the Cyprus problem through inter-communal dialogue and
reaffirmed its position that the solution agreed must be based on the
implementation of all United Nations resolutions and NAM's decisions on
Cyprus, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and
international law. In this regard, the Movement also considered the
statement by the President of the Security Council of 19 December 2002,
which expressed its regret that the Turkish Cypriot leadership had not
responded in a timely way to the initiatives of the Secretary-General. The
Movement also took note that the attitude of the Turkish Cypriot leadership
is in direct contrast with the will of the Turkish Cypriots themselves. To
this effort, the Movement welcomed the recent mobilization of the Turkish
Cypriot civil society in favour of a solution. The Movement urged both
sides to continue negotiating in the period ahead in a positive and
constructive spirit so that full agreement can be reached the soonest."
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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