Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-04-11

Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Saturday, April 11, 1998

US aiming for face-to-face talks

Rumours that the US is paving the ground for face-to-face talks between President Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash continued to make their way in Friday's Greek newspapers.

Simerini resurrected the idea that the US were considering a Dayton-style conference for the Cyprus problem. Following US envoy Richard Holbrooke's less than successful recent round of talks with Denktash and President Clerides, Simerini reported that the US Ambassador to Greece Nicolas Burns was working overtime in Athens trying to drum up support for the idea.

The anticipated arrival of US Cyprus co-ordinator Thomas Miller in Athens later this month is further proof that the Americans are gearing up for a Holbrooke-led effort to "crack" the Cyprus problem, Simerini reported.

The front page of top-circulation daily Phileleftheros carried a story yesterday detailing what it described as a diplomatic incident.

The "incident" involved Italy's visiting deputy Foreign Minister,Pierro Fassino, who, Phileleftheros reported, failed to use the only official crossing-over point when returning from an official visit to the occupied north on Wednesday.

Fassino crossed to the occupied areas through the Ledra Palace checkpoint on Wednesday morning for a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, Phileleftheros said.

But, the paper said, government police awaiting his return through the same check-point later in the day were disappointed. Fassino slipped over to the government-controlled areas unnoticed using some other check-point and went straight to Larnaca airport where he boarded a private jet and flew to Turkey.

Where the Italian official had crossed over was a mystery, Phileleftheros stated, as the Ledra Palace is the only checkpoint where the names of those coming and going are recorded.

Machi led on a story about four Israeli fighter-jets violating Cyprus air- space on Wednesday. The violations were particularly worrying for the government because the four F-16s flew just south of the Paphos military air-base, the paper said. Machi suggested that the Israeli fighter jets were on a mission to seek signs of the S-300 missiles being deployed near the air-base.

The government was to protest to the Israeli government over the incident, Machi said.

Agon reports that the House of Representatives will seek measures against British Bases officials involved in the brief arrest of Diko MP Marios Matsakis on Bases ground last week.

Alithia says that the Israeli jet overflights caused alarm in the British Bases. The jets were at first mistaken to be Greek fighters participating in a military exercise.

Haravghi leads on comments by the Minister of Commerce Nicos Rolandis that the government is studying the possibility of privatising problematic semi-governmental organisations.

The paper says that there are plans to sell the Larnaca marina to the private sector.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article