Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 07-03-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] US AMBASSADOR - OIL EXPLOITATION - CYPRUS QUESTION

[01] US AMBASSADOR - OIL EXPLOITATION - CYPRUS QUESTION

In statements after a meeting with the General Secretary of left wing party AKEL and President of the House of Representatives Demetris Christofias, Schlicher said that any discussion on the oil issue should focus on the new opportunities that arise and could facilitate the reunification of Cyprus.

It is clear that the Republic of Cyprus is the sovereign authority, they have the right to conclude agreements such as the one concluded and anyone who challenges that right should do so finding legal peaceful ways to approach the issue, he said responding to questions regarding Turkeys protests on Cyprus` right to exploit possible hydrocarbon reserves in its exclusive economic zone.

The US Ambassador noted that discussion on this issue by all parties concerned should be in the spirit of how can the possibility of this new national wealth be used in a way that is going to facilitate the reunification of the island and not deepen the divisions on the island.

So, that is the position of my government and I hope that the source of discourse that we hear on this issue focuses on that question of reunification, he added.

Replying to questions on the oil issue and the Turkish threats, Christofias said that the Ambassador reiterated the US position that indeed the Republic of Cyprus has the sovereign right to proceed with the exploration in its coastal area and conclude agreements with other sovereign states.

The US Ambassador also referred to the July 8th 2006 agreement aiming at a Cyprus settlement and said that his country would like to see the promotion of the agreements implementation.

One of the most important things we talked about was our mutual desire that the UN process created by the July agreement starts immediately, as soon as possible, to produce progress in the technical committees and working groups that will lead to a situation where we can resume the substantive negotiations on reunifying the island, he said.

The US policy, he added, is strongly in favor of the Cyprus reunification and that is why we support the UN track as vigorously as we do and we call on both communities to find a way forward that is going to produce that progress.

Schlicher said that during his meeting with Christofias they also took the opportunity to discuss political developments in the Republic of Cyprus.

In his statements, Christofias said that he informed Schlicher on the positions of the Greek Cypriot side as well as his partys positions regarding the rapprochement between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots and the common efforts with the Turkish Cypriot Republican Turkish Party to reach a common language on various aspects of the Cyprus problem.

Cyprus entered the EU in 2004. The island has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third.

On July 8th 2006 Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed, during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of former UN Undersecretary General for political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.

Cyprus has signed agreements for the delimitation of its Exclusive Economic Zone with Egypt and Lebanon. Turkey has reacted with threats as regards the governments intentions for exploration and exploitation of possible oil deposits or natural gas in the sea area off the island.

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