Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-09-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] LEADERS - CYPRUS TALKS - DOWNER

[02] CHRISTOFIAS - TALKS

[03] KYPRIANOU - KOSOVO

[04] CYPRUS - TOURISM

[01] LEADERS - CYPRUS TALKS - DOWNER

Downer noted that the leaders have agreed that their representatives and teams dealing with the property aspect of the Cyprus problem will meet again later this month and report back to the leaders in early October.

Speaking after Friday`s meeting, Downer said ``the leaders have been meeting today from this morning and also over lunch and it has been a good opportunity for them to have a continuation of the discussion about the property issue.``

``They have agreed that their representatives and the teams that deal with this issue will meet again starting the 16th September, which is next Thursday. They will meet next Thursday and Friday to concretise the main aspects of the property issue, with an aim to identifying convergences and report back to the leaders in early October,`` he said.

He added that ``the leaders are going abroad, so they will not be back until around that time and the leaders will meet again during that week and the representatives will report back to them having had several meetings between now and them.``

Asked why Friday`s meeting was shorter than Wednesday`s, Downer said there was ``no particular reason`` and noted that ``they came to these conclusions that this was the best way of handling it and certainly is a view we share.``

``There is no point in the meeting going on just for the sake of going on. I think it was a good meeting, it was held in a good atmosphere and they have a quite clear work programme,`` he added.

Asked if he was satisfied with the results of the two meetings, Downer said he was. ``Yes, it has been good,`` he said.

To questions regarding progress in the talks over the two meetings, Downer said ``the meetings have been very useful and there is no question of that.``

Asked how he saw the two sides continuing the discussion on the property issue, Downer said ``the important thing is to understand the process, and the process is that the leaders have obviously discussed the various issues at length over the last couple of days.``

``Now the representatives have been tasked with dealing with the discussions that they have had. Obviously they have a clear sense of where they are going in those discussions and they will report back to the leaders. It is a process that we in the United Nations think is a very useful process,`` he pointed out.

Asked if there has been progress, Downer said ``it depends`` and noted that the leaders have submitted proposals.

``That has obviously been a very important part of the process. There were discussions before that and identification of issues. Then specific proposals have been presented by the two sides. There has been discussion about those proposals. Now they will be dealt with, with a view to achieving convergences,`` he said, adding that ``these are technical questions, by their representatives and the teams.``

Replying to other questions, Downer said President Christofias ``made some comments a couple of days ago in a speech about it being a complex and difficult issue.``

``Of course it is. That goes without saying, you do not have to be a great expert on the property issue to understand that it is a difficult and a complex issue and it affects a lot of people. So, there are things that need to be worked through. There are proposals that are being put forward by the two sides, and ultimately the challenge here is make sure they all merge into one plan. So, they are working on it,`` he said.

He also pointed out that the leaders of the two communities have been discussing the issue ``for hours and hours.``

Asked if there was any sign that they would move from their basic stand, Downer said ``we will tell you at the United Nations when we, from our perspective, are unhappy with the way the process is going and we will tell you when we are satisfied with the way the process is going, and my answer to that question today is that we are satisfied with the way the process is going.``

``But we are always very cautious with our choice of words and I think you will understand why, because otherwise, to use an expression we use, and you have them here in Cyprus, so you might use it as well, `it starts hares running.` I think it is important that these negotiations are able to be conducted privately as with all negotiations of this kind,`` he concluded.

[02] CHRISTOFIAS - TALKS

Speaking after Friday`s meeting in the context of direct talks to solve the Cyprus problem, President Christofias said ``we continued the discussion with Mr. Eroglu, in general on the property issue.``

``There was an exchange of views, which led us at noon to decide to authorise our two teams, our aides and the teams, to continue more specifically discussions on various aspects, with an aim to reach some convergences, which they will present to us when we resume in early October,`` he said.

President Christofias said he believed this was ``the right decision, with an aim to have an outcome, so that we do not just talk in general terms.``

Replying to questions, President Christofias said ``we will see in the course of time if there is a result and the nature of the result,`` adding that ``the effort is to have a result.``

[03] KYPRIANOU - KOSOVO

In a statement to CNA, Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou welcomed the UN General Assembly resolution on Kosovo that was passed by acclamation by the 192-nation assembly.

The fact that Cyprus cosponsored the resolution does not mean, under any circumstances that we are altering our stance on the Kosovo issue or we accept that the final status (of Kosovo) has been settled because for us the issue remains open, the FM remarked.

Kyprianou repeated Cyprus firm position that we support the full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia.

[04] CYPRUS - TOURISM

Overall, tourist arrivals increased by 0.7% between January 1st and August 31st 2010, and income between January 1st and July 31st rose to 809.4 million Euro compared to 798.3 million Euro for the same period in 2009, thus increasing by 1,4%.

Paschalides noted that the greatest increase in tourist arrivals came from Russia (50.2%) and the greatest decrease concerned the UK (5.8%).

The UK, he said, was most affected by the international financial crisis. Çowever, he explained, there is a variety of reasons for this reduction and this is a matter which is being looked into.

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