Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 04-02-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] Transcript of UN SG’S questions and answers

[02] Filori says de Soto to meet with Verheugen in Brussels

[03] Irish EU Presidency welcomes Cyprus agreement

[04] Alvaro de Soto: I have a good feeling about this

[05] British Foreign Secretary welcomes commitment to talks

[06] Annan will intervene to complete plan if talks fail

[07] Papadopoulos: success of talks depends on shift of Turkish side

[01] Transcript of UN SG’S questions and answers

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Transcript of UN SGS questions and answers

by Apostolis Zoupaniotis

United Nations, Feb 13 (CNA)

Q: In the past a role for the EU has been one of the sticking points, I see it is in your statement. Can you spell what will be the European role be? How important, how much will they be involved?

A: I think as we move forward, we have lots of work to be done on laws, on constitutions, and economic and financial aspects where the EU will have to work with us to ensure that whatever we do is in conformity with the requirements. So moving forward we expect to work with them, and we have been working with them even though they have not been in the room as we negotiate in technical and other aspects they have been fully involved and the parties have welcomed that.

Q: What is it that you cannot achieve that you are insisting in bringing the EU? You think you are not competent, cannot handle it?

A: No, I think, lets take the problem in manageable chunks. First you have to have the negotiations with the parties to get to a settlement. Say on the political process and the political negotiations is basically between the two parties, the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots with my representative. Then when you get into a deadlock, to help us break the deadlock, I will bring in Turkey and Greece to work with me in an intensive period to try to break all the deadlock. Lets say for an intensive period of about a week. And if that effort fails, I have the right to complete the plan, to go to referenda, so at this stage the EU is not involved at this key negotiation stage. They come in some other technical aspects that we will have to ...approach. Ôhey are joining the EU. They will be put in ...economic assistance, financial assistance, the plan and its implementation will have an economic and financial impact where they would also have to deal with. So see, the EU, in the technical sense, in the implementation, and when they say they will accommodate the plan, lets not forget the train has been moving along. The GC can enter the EU on the 1st of May. Hopefully we will have a united Cyprus entering, the EU will have to accommodate and adapt its own processes, accession rules, to be able to accommodate the agreement that we are likely to reach with them. So that statement should be seen in that context.

Q: CNA Last night when you left and went home, and all of us we thought it was a collapse, can you tell us your thoughts, some of your actions or Mr. De Sotos actions to bring this breakthrough?

A: Obviously I am very pleased that we are where we are, and I hope the parties are going home satisfied and pleased and I hope the people of Cyprus are happy and will encourage their leaders to sustain the leadership and wisdom they have demonstrated over the next three months so we can work in a sustained manner and good spirit and get a united Cyprus into the EU.

[02] Filori says de Soto to meet with Verheugen in Brussels

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Filori says de Soto to meet with Verheugen in Brussels

by Nicos Bellos

Brussels, Feb 13 (CNA) - The UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, will be visiting Brussels next week to meet with EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, the Commissioner's Spokesman Jean Christophe Filori told CNA.

Alvaro de Soto will stopover in Brussels on his way to Cyprus to chair the Cyprus peace talks set to resume on 19 February in Nicosia with an aim to solve the longstanding Cyprus problem and a reunited island enters the EU on 1 May 2004.

[03] Irish EU Presidency welcomes Cyprus agreement

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Irish EU Presidency welcomes Cyprus agreement

Nicosia, Feb (13) -- Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, speaking on behalf of the Presidency of the EU this evening, welcomed the announcement made earlier today in New York by the UN Secretary General, with the agreement of the parties, that negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem will continue in Nicosia from 19 February in the framework of Kofi Annan's mission of good offices.

The Irish Premier said the accession of a united Cyprus on 1 May ''remains the clear preference of the European Union''.

These negotiations offer a real opportunity to achieve this historic objective, he noted.

[04] Alvaro de Soto: I have a good feeling about this

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Alvaro de Soto: I have a good feeling about this

by Apostolis Zoupaniotis

United Nations, Feb 13 (CNA) -- Alvaro de Soto, UN Secretary General's special envoy on Cyprus, was in an upbeat mood today before the press, following the announcement earlier today that peace talks for a comprehensive settlement will begin next week in Cyprus.

''I have a good feeling about this,'' he told a press conference when invited to make a prediction, pointing out that the parties involved have shown a ''clear demonstration of political will'' that has satisfied the Secretary General to reengage in the peace process.

De Soto stressed that the UN has the mandate to conduct the talks but others contribute and pointed out that the referendum to take place if there is agreement is not only significant but also it is decisive because it gives the Cypriots the final say on what their leaders agree to.

Replying to questions about the European Union role in the resumed peace process, de Soto noted that the UN has been in close collaboration with the EU throughout the past three or four years.

''Obviously there are some issues that concern the EU and particularly the Commission very closely and so that consultation was needed. It is fully our intention not only to continue that collaboration but to beef it up and the Secretary General has asked me to stop in Brussels on the way to Cyprus next week in order to firm arrangements to make sure that that collaboration continues, we value it and we know it will be helpful to all concerned,'' he said.

Asked about the Secretary General's role as arbitrator, should the parties in the Cyprus question not reach agreement on some issues, de Soto expressed hope that the parties will be able to agree in the initial stages but failing that Greece and Turkey will come into the process.

He said only as a last resort the Secretary General with some reluctance will assume the responsibility that the parties have entrusted with him to in effect have the last word because after he completes the plan, it will go to referendum.

Invited to say whether the Cyprus problem is over, the UN diplomat replied ''it is within reach, and we have solid reasons to believe that on the basis of commitment shown by the parties and by Greece and Turkey agreeing to the procedure set out in the statement the Secretary General has read.''

''If they match that with the necessary determination and the hard work that needs to be done, it can be done, I think there is solid grounds for hope,'' he added.

He noted that now it has become clear on all sides that a settlement is not only inevitable but highly desirable for them and it is clearly in their interests.

Asked to identify the changes that have convinced the parties to agree to the resumption of talks, Alvaro de Soto said ''it is quite clear that certain events in the upcoming calendar had something to do with what is happening now.''

''What I am now more convinced than I was before is that there is a consciousness on the part of all the leaders concerned that the Cyprus problem needs to be resolved on its merits simply because it should not be allowed to fester,'' he said.

On the possibility of seeing the talks timeframe fail, de Soto recalled that Annan decided to reengage in the Cyprus peace process based on ''a clear demonstration of political will that satisfies the conditions that he lays down'' that the parties will negotiate in good faith with a view at reaching a settlement and putting it to separate simultaneous referenda.

Replying to a question about the leverage the Secretary General has on the parties, de Soto said Kofi Annan's strength is his moral authority.

''He does not have actual political power in a classical sense, what we rely on most heavily is self-interest of all the parties involved in solving this problem on its own merits,'' he explained.

He also noted that the SG has many friends with whom he works carefully in trying to help the parties see that it is in their interest to actually solve this.

Replying to other questions, he said that the UN has the impression that this time there is a different mindset and negotiations should work much better than in the previous years.

On the participation of Greece and Turkey in the process, de Soto explained that they will participate and can participate fully, something which will provide an excellent opportunity for the kind of interface that has not occurred in the past.

''We see it as a useful device, we see the meeting as a diplomatic device at the disposal of the Secretary General, he gathers these four directly involved parties in order to jointly concentrate on the way out of problems they have not been able to solve at the two party level,'' he said.

On the contribution of other parties in the wings of the talks, de Soto said the UK, the US and others lend very valuable assistance in many ways including diplomatic assistance to further the goals that everybody shares.

''However it is the UN, the Secretary General and I, who have the mandate to conduct this exercise, they agree with us as do all students of conflict resolution and diplomacy it is best to have a single entity or person in charge in an effort of this kind, too many cooks is not a good recipe,'' he stressed.

Asked about the importance of the referendum on any agreed settlement, he said ''the referendum is not only significant it is decisive, because ultimately it is the people, the Cypriots themselves, who are going to decide whether this settlement is going to come about.''

''Whether this will have a snowball effect on others, I certainly hope so. Cyprus is the longest peace making mandate, this would be an extraordinary breakthrough,'' he concluded.

[05] British Foreign Secretary welcomes commitment to talks

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British Foreign Secretary welcomes commitment to talks

London, Feb 13 (CNA) -- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has welcomed the resumption of peace talks on Cyprus, next week.

In a statement issued here this evening, Straw said everybody has shown a degree of commitment to the peace process that bodes well for the next phase.

The full text of Jack Straw's statement is as follows:

[06] Annan will intervene to complete plan if talks fail

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Annan will intervene to complete plan if talks fail

by Apostolis Zoupaniotis

United Nations, Feb 13 (CNA) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said if the new effort on Cyprus fails during next weeks negotiations, then he will have the right to intervene to complete the plan so that it goes to referenda.

He also said the EU will have to work with the UN to ensure that everything is done in conformity with the requirements.

Answering questions after reading his statement to the press, Annan also praised the support that the talks received from around the world, noting there is lots of good will for the people of Cyprus and expectation that a united Cyprus will enter the EU by 1st of May.

Invited to spell the role of the EU, Annan said I think as we move forward, we have lots of work to be done on laws, on constitutions, and economic and financial aspects where the EU will have to work with us to ensure that whatever we do is in conformity with the requirements.

So moving forward we expect to work with them, and we have been working with them even though they have not been in the room as we negotiate in technical and other aspects they have been fully involved and the parties have welcomed that, he said.

Asked what it was he could not achieve and insisted on bringing in the EU, Annan advised to take the problem ''in manageable chunks.

He explained that first you have to have the negotiations with the parties to get to a settlement''.

''Say on the political process and the political negotiations is basically between the two parties, the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots with my representative. Then when you get into a deadlock, to help us break the deadlock, I will bring in Turkey and Greece to work with me in an intensive period to try to break all the deadlock. Lets say for an intensive period of about a week. And if that effort fails, I have the right to complete the plan, to go to referenda, so at this stage the EU is not involved at this key negotiation stage, he said.

However, Annan said the EU will come in when technical aspects will be approached, reminding that Cyprus is joining the EU and the plan and its implementation will have an economic and financial impact which will have to be dealt with.

Annan said when the EU says it will accommodate the plan, lets not forget the train has been moving along''.

''The Greek Cypriots can enter the EU on the 1st of May. Hopefully we will have a united Cyprus entering, the EU will have to accommodate and adapt its own processes, accession rules, to be able to accommodate the agreement that we are likely to reach with them. So that statement should be seen in that context, he said.

Asked by CNA what his actions were last night as he left the UN headquarters and it was believed the talks were on the verge of a collapse, Annan said obviously I am very pleased that we are where we are, and I hope the parties are going home satisfied and pleased and I hope the people of Cyprus are happy and will encourage their leaders to sustain the leadership and wisdom they have demonstrated over the next three months so we can work in a sustained manner and good spirit and get a united Cyprus into the EU.

He explained that last night he when left at 8pm local time, we had a text that the parties were looking at and they all had rooms on the 33rd floor''.

''The four delegations had a room each, and Alvaro was shuttling between them to see they would agree to the proposal I had put to them, and they worked rather late, he added.

Annan said in the end we did get the agreement and we met at 10.30 this morning and everybody signed on''.

''So we are very pleased and of course all the interested parties from around the world also encouraged them to really not miss this opportunity. So we had lots of support from around the world so there is lots of good will for the people of Cyprus, lots of expectation that a united Cyprus will enter the EU and I think we should not let down the people, not miss this chance for your leaders to make history, he added.

Earlier, speaking to reporters before reading his statement, Annan said I believe it is a very good evening for Cyprus.

He said we have not yet solved the problem, but I really believe that, after forty years, a political settlement is at last in reach, provided both sides summon the necessary political will.

The UN Chief congratulated both leaders, Mr. Papadopoulos and Mr. Denktash, on the courage and political will they have both shown in the last three days, which has allowed me to take the decision to resume negotiations next week. And let me also thank the governments of Greece and Turkey for the very constructive role they have both played.

[07] Papadopoulos: success of talks depends on shift of Turkish side

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Papadopoulos: success of talks depends on shift of Turkish side

by Apostolis Zoupaniotis

United Nations, Feb 13 (CNA) -- Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos has pledged to continue his positive approach in the search for a settlement on the basis of a UN peace proposal and in achieving the accession of a reunited island in the European Union.

In a statement issued here today, after the announcement of the resumption of negotiations in Cyprus next week, the President said the successful outcome of the talks will depend on a shift in the position of the Turkish side.

The President welcomed European Commission engagement in all phases of the negotiations.

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