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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 04-02-05
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Thursday, 05 February 2004 UN SG invites Cyprus leaders to New York for
new talks on 10 February
[02] "Secretary-General still insists on his terms", says President
Papadopoulos
[03] US expects Cyprus sides to commit to Secretary-General's proposals
[04] Cyprus has lowest unemployment rate among ten acceding states in Dec.
2003
[01] UN SG invites Cyprus leaders to New York for new talks on 10
February
United Nations Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan has invited the Greek
Cypriot leader, President Tassos Papadopoulos and the Turkish Cypriot
leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, to New York on 10 February to resume negotiations
on the basis of his plan for a comprehensive solution of the Cyprus
problem. "The objective of the negotiations would be to put a completed
text to referenda in April 2004, in time for a reunited Cyprus to accede to
the European Union on 1 May", a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said
in a statement released yesterday. The full statement is as follows:
"The Secretary-General wrote today to the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot
leaders inviting them to come to New York on 10 February 2004 to resume
negotiations on the basis of his plan. The objective of the negotiations
would be to put a completed text to referenda in April 2004, in time for a
reunited Cyprus to accede to European Union on 1 May 2004. The Secretary-
General has also written to the Prime Ministers of Greece, Turkey and the
United Kingdom, asking them to have representatives on hand in New York on
that occasion. The Secretary-General was moved to take this initiative by
his recent, encouraging contacts on the Cyprus question during his trip to
Europe and afterwards. In his letters, the Secretary-General has appealed
to the leaders to summon the political will needed to bring about this
result in the short time available. He has also set out what needs to be
done for this to happen."
[02] "Secretary-General still insists on his terms", says President
Papadopoulos
The President of the Republic, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, has noted yesterday
that the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, still insisted on his terms
for resuming the peace talks. Invited to say under which conditions the
Greek Cypriot side would participate in new talks for a solution of the
Cyprus problem and whether the terms put forward by Mr Annan for convening
such talks had changed, President Papadopoulos said, "The Secretary-General
insists on his terms so far. So, as he has told me in Brussels, he has not
yet taken a final decision and is considering the issue. I have made an
appeal and I talked with him yesterday reiterating my appeal for him to
convene talks; and during the course of the negotiations it will become
clear whether it would be possible to set a date for referenda or make
other arrangements for resolving the pending issues."
[03] US expects Cyprus sides to commit to Secretary-General's proposals
Washington supports the UN Secretary-General's efforts in Cyprus and
expects from all the parties involved to make clear statements that they
accept Mr Kofi Annan's proposals as a basis for achieving a settlement of
the Cyprus problem, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher has noted.
Replying to questions on Cyprus during yesterday's press briefing, Mr
Boucher said that the US was looking for a commitment from both sides to
the Secretary-General that they would meet his requirements and resume
discussions. "At this point, I think we've seen the public statements that
the Turkish governments made during the discussions here. I frankly don't
know if the Secretary-General has heard from the other parties at this
point. So I think from here, in terms of actually moving down that road, we
will leave it to the Secretary-General to say whether he has gotten what he
needs from the parties", he added.
Invited to comment on a White House statement calling Mr Annan's proposals
a "formula", the US Spokesman noted, "I don't have the exact quote with me.
It sounds like he is saying exactly what I said: that we welcome the fact
that the parties are committed to working on the basis of proposals and
requirements the Secretary-General has made. We welcome the fact Turkey is
committed to that, and we look for all the parties to commit to that".
Asked to say what the US expected from the Greek Cypriot side, he replied,
"When the Secretary called President Papadopoulos, he encouraged him -
encouraged the Greek Cypriot side - to accept the requirements and
proposals of the Secretary-General as the way to reach a solution. That is
what we have heard from the Turkish side in their talks here, and we are
looking for all the parties to convey that to the Secretary-General",
noting that "whether he [Mr Annan] has received that kind of assurances or
not, we will leave it at this point for the Secretary-General to counsel
it".
[04] Cyprus has lowest unemployment rate among ten acceding states in Dec.
2003
Cyprus' unemployment rate in December 2003 stood at 4,8%, which is the
lowest rate among the ten EU acceding states and lower than the average
unemployment rates of the 15 member states and the Euro-zone countries. The
above was mentioned in a press release issued yesterday by the Statistical
Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) on unemployment figures for
the 15 member states and ten acceding countries in December 2003.
According to Eurostat, the unemployment rate in Cyprus for males reached
4.3% and for females 5.3%. Both figures are lower that the average
equivalent rates in the Euro-zone countries and the member states. Eurostat
estimates that, in December 2003, 12.3 million men and women were
unemployed in the Euro-zone and 14.2 million in the EU15. Euro-zone
seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.8% in December 2003, unchanged
compared to November 2003. It was 8.6% in December 2002. The EU15
unemployment rate was 8.0% in December 2003, unchanged compared to
November. It was 7.9% in December 2002.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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