Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-10-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT - STATE VISIT

[02] BRITISH MINISTER - INTERVIEW

[01] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT - STATE VISIT

According to the programme of the visit, Medvedev will be welcomed at Larnaca Airport by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Kyprianou and will be beginning his official meetings on Thursday.

On Thursday, the official welcoming ceremony will be held at the Presidential Palace, during which President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias will welcome the Russian President.

Medvedev will inspect the Guard of Honour and lay a wreath at the statue of the late President of the Republic of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios III, and a moment of silence will be observed.

The two Presidents will then introduce their official delegations and will proceed to the presidential office for a tete-a-tete meeting, followed by official talks, and the signing of the visitors` book by Medvedev.

Furthermore, an action plan, bilateral agreements and memoranda will be signed, followed by the decoration of President Christofias by Medvedev with the Decoration of Friendship, and statements to the Press.

Medvedev will also meet President of the House of Representatives Marios Garoyian at the House of Representatives and later on in the day will meet Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus Chrysostomos II at the Archbishopric Palace.

He will also inaugurate the Russian Commercial Bank with President Christofias.

In the evening, President Christofias will give a banquet dinner in honour of Medvedev and will decorate the Russian President with the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III.

Later on, Medvedev will arrive at Larnaca Airport, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs will bid him farewell, and will depart for Moscow.

[02] BRITISH MINISTER - INTERVIEW

In an interview with CNA, on the occasion of his presence here to represent London in the celebrations to mark 50 years of independence of the Republic of Cyprus, Lord David Howell, Minister of State at the FCO, pointed out that ending the partition of the island relies on arrangements between Cypriots, which are unique to this island while he describes the solution of the division as a piece of the jigsaw of humanity.

Asked to assess how Cyprus has faired as an independent nation, he said that economically, it has done amazingly well, pointing out however that not everything can be measured in economic terms.

There is political security and a feeling of national pride and social cohesion and there we have to face the fact that the original Republic constitution did not last, it was upset.

Looking forward, these are problems and issues that every sensible person, every Greek Cypriot wants to overcome. That has to be the answer. I hope that the discussions, the negotiations can at last open the door to a solution with the north. The problems of Cyprus have been with us for over 40 years, that I have been in politics. We must find an accommodation, it is very difficult. We in London want to support every possible effort to create the bizonal community people are willing to accept, he added.

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