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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 04-01-14
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Wednesday, 14 January 2004 UN Chief's letter does not raise any new
points, says President Papadopoulos
[02] Cyprus has biggest population rise in 2003 among EU acceding
states
[01] UN Chief's letter does not raise any new points, says President
Papadopoulos
The President of the Republic, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, noted that the
letter the UN Secretary-General had sent him did not raise any new points
but merely reiterated the positions expressed in Mr Kofi Annan's report to
the Security Council last April, namely, that the UN did not intend to
reengage in the peace process until the parties involved showed genuine
political will to work for a solution, and agreed to put the Annan plan to
a referendum. Speaking to reporters yesterday on the sidelines of a
gathering of retired civil servants, President Papadopoulos pointed out he
would not reply to the UN Secretary-General's letter, which was a response
to his letter of 17 December asking Mr Annan to call for a resumption of
the Cyprus peace talks. "I do not intend to respond to Mr Annan's letter, I
do not intend to engage in a type of negotiations by correspondence", he
noted. Replying to a question concerning the UN Chief's demand that both
sides agree to put his plan to separate referenda, Mr Papadopoulos said it
was a precondition which Mr Annan had set out right from the start, "under
different circumstances and for other purposes", and wondered how it would
be possible to put to a referendum a plan that had not yet been completed.
Asked if he rejected the Secretary-General's term, the President replied,
"This is not a precondition and I do not reject anything; I am simply
repeating our positions", adding that "when negotiations take place, the
outcome of these negotiations will certainly be put to a referendum". Mr
Papadopoulos made clear that the aforementioned position had been conveyed
to both the UN Secretary-General and the US President Mr George W. Bush.
Referring to his reply to a letter by the US President, Mr Papadopoulos
said he reiterated the positions of the Greek Cypriot side and its
readiness to resume settlement talks whenever called for by the UN
Secretary-General. Invited to say whether the Cyprus scene would be any
clearer after a meeting in Washington D.C. between President Bush and the
Turkish Prime Minister on 28 January, President Papadopoulos noted, "No, on
the contrary. The assurances I have from the US is that the Cyprus problem
is neither a priority nor the main topic of discussion in the US".
[02] Cyprus has biggest population rise in 2003 among EU acceding
states
According to the first demographic estimates for 2003, published on 9
January by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat),
Cyprus had the highest rise in population among the EU acceding states last
year as its total population increased by 17.4%, but only 3.3% of that
related to natural births while the remaining 14.1% was covered by
migration. In addition to having the highest net migration rate among the
acceding states in 2003, Cyprus also had the highest birth rate with 11.1% -
the only rate above the EU average of 10.6% - and the lowest death rate
with 7.8%. On 1 January 2004 the EU had a population of 380.8 million,
while the equivalent figure for the ten acceding countries was 74.1
million.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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