Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-06-11

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[02] Government welcomes invitation to direct talks

[03] US envoy gives full backing to July meeting

1550:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Cyprus Stock Exchange

CSE All Share Index                    76.10 (+0.24)

Highest: 82.46 (2/1/97)
Lowest : 73.90 (30/1/97)

Sectural Indices

Banks                                  84.94 (+0.49)
Approved Investment Companies          66.18 (+0.99)
Insurance Companies                    58.24 (-0.51)
Industrial Companies                   80.72 (-0.20)
Tourist Industries                     62.34 (+0.71)
Commercial Companies                   50.58 (-1.60)
Other Companies                        54.94 (+0.07)

Trading Volume                         CYP 2620306.560

CNA MA/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1700:CYPPRESS:02

[02] Government welcomes invitation to direct talks

Confirming receipt of UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan's, invitation for direct negotiations on the Cyprus problem, President Clerides said UN resident representative, Gustave Feissel, handed him a photocopy of the original invitation, expected to reach the President in a few days.

The President said Annan's letter is written in "very general terms" and does not refer to the basis on which the dialogue will be conducted.

The letter, Clerides noted, does not specify the venue of the talks but informs its recipient these will take place "very close to New York."

"We shall know in several days where the talks will be held," he added.

UN Secretary-General will host a dinner for President Clerides and Denktash on the eve of the talks, July 8.

Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Manolis Christofides told his daily briefing Wednesday "the government is satisfied with the invitation."

The Secretary-General, he added, will chair the start of the talks and then his Special Representative for Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, will take over. During the talks, Annan will be available for the two interlocutors when needed, he said.

"This is the beginning of a new effort towards finding a Cyprus solution and it will last as long as necessary," Christofides said, noting that more meetings will follow.

In view of the invitations a meeting of the National Council (top advisory body to the President) will be called, the Spokesman added.

UN resident senior political adviser, Peter Schmidt, told CNA today this is "a straight-forward invitation" and said negotiations will be preceded by an informal dinner at the residence of the Secretary-General on July 8.

Asked who else will attend the dinner, Schmidt said he expects it to be a "very small group" as "the idea is to give an opportunity to both to warm up."

"The idea is that it will be the beginning of a process that will be followed by a series of meetings, not yet scheduled," he added.

The UN official said the Secretary-General will open the talks and Cordovez will take over. The UN chief "will be available to come in when needed during the talks."

President Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash had two informal meetings in Nicosia in October 1994, which ended in a deadlock. The two men have not met since.

CNA AP/MM/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

2130:CYPPRESS:03

[03] US envoy gives full backing to July meeting

Holbrooke also said he has no "time frame" within which to achieve progress towards a negotiated settlement in Cyprus and indicated the US may take over the peace effort after the UN has had "the first month to play with."

Speaking to CNN International, Holbrooke reiterated the US is working for a "federal, bicommunal, bizonal Cyprus" where the rights of both communities will be respected, and not for two separate states on the island.

Asked what optimism he had for the July talks, Holbrooke said they were important because "it is good for them (President Clerides and Denktash) to get together face to face, and it shows new activism on the part of the UN Secretary-General, which is a wonderful development."

"If the talks make progress, it gives us a little momentum to build on, if not, at least we will have a clearer picture where the issues are, so there is no downside to this meeting," Holbrooke told CNN.

Replying to questions, he described the current division on the island as unacceptable and said he has "no time frame" in which to clinch a deal, adding that "it will take some time, the first month will go to the UN to play with, and then we will see what we do next."

"We do not expect to go into the region until the middle of the summer and I am in extensive talks with the Greek and Turkish leaders, the UN and my own colleagues," he added.

Describing the situation here as an "unstable equilibrium", Holbrooke warned "it would be a disaster if this explodes" in that Greece and Turkey, both US allies, are involved in it.

Asked what the US stands to gain from a resolution of the Cyprus question, Holbrooke acknowledged Cyprus is hardly an "economic magnet" for the US, but pointed out that US interests in the area are driven by "the fact that Greece and Turkey are NATO allies".

"There was a bloody war (in Cyprus), people are still missing on both sides, the division of the island, an ugly scar like the Berlin wall, should be erased, and this tension cannot go on without erupting," he said.

"US interest is to prevent that eruption, if we can contribute to solution, it will be a major plus for stability all across Southeastern Europe," he added.

Asked by CNA if the US would use its political clout to secure the withdrawal of Turkish occupation troops from Cyprus, Holbrooke said the US will use its clout to "encourage a settlement", but stressed it will not "impose a solution on the communities in Cyprus and in that regard there is a tremendous difference with Bosnia."

"NATO bombing was a major factor in pressing people to a solution which ended the war in Bosnia, there is no war in Cyprus, but an unresolved problem of great tension and we will do what we can to resolve it, working very closely with the UN," he told CNA.

Holbrooke explained that his assignment involves Cyprus only and noted that "there is not a real direct linkage between the Aegean (disputes between Greece and Turkey) and Cyprus."

CNA MM/RG/1997

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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