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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 98-04-03Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>News UpdateFriday, 03/04/98CONTENTS
[01] Miller meets President CleridesCyprus President Glafcos Clerides yesterday had a meeting with US State Department Special Co-ordinator for Cyprus, Thomas Miller, who arrived in Cyprus ahead of a visit by US Presidential Emissary, Richard Holbrooke, who is due here today.Mr Miller told the press that efforts to settle the Cyprus problem have reached "a very critical point" and that the US were "making some very serious efforts to try to be helpful." He said that "there will be some very important meetings" when Holbrooke arrives. Replying to a question if they are bringing any ideas, the American diplomat said "we've got a number of ideas but I prefer to discuss those inside." "I think that you all understand what our efforts are all about, this is very serious and I think it's a very critical point that we've reached at this point of time," he said. Miller will meet Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash this morning and is expected to have a second meeting either with President Clerides or Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides later in the day. [02] Bicommunal talks must resume soon, urges Russian envoyRussia's Special Representative for Cyprus, Vladimir Chizhov, who arrived in Cyprus yesterday, had meetings both with President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader , Rauf Denktash.He described his meeting with President Clerides as "useful and interesting" but pointed out he was not optimistic Denktash would abandon his demand for recognition of his illegal regime. He stressed the purpose of his meetings here were the Cyprus problem and ways of resolving it. Mr Chizhov expressed concern about the situation in Cyprus and pointed to the need to renew the bicommunal talks. "What is needed at the moment is the promotion of the Secretary- General's good offices mission and the resumption of bicommunal talks soon, " he said. Invited to comment on the Turkish side's refusal to participate in UN- sponsored talks unless the illegal entity unilaterally declared in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus is recognised, Chizhov said "we are one step behind where we were last summer." Commenting on the deployment of the Russian anti-aircraft missile system S- 300, the Russian envoy pointed to President Clerides' proposal for demilitarisation of the island. Mr Chizhov is visiting Cyprus after meetings in Athens and Ankara. [03] Kranidiotis says Russian stance on Cyprus is constructiveRussia's role and stance on the Cyprus issue are constructive and particularly substantial, Greece's Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis said yesterday.Speaking at a joint press conference with Russia's Special Representative for Cyprus, Vladimir Chizhov, Mr Kranidiotis reiterated that the Cyprus problem was at a "crucial turning point" and said that "efforts for its settlement should be intensified". He called on the permanent members of the UN Security Council to exercise their influence on the Turkish side "to come to the negotiations table". Mr Kranidiotis said that "the conditions put forward by Turkey and its demands for a change in the basis of the talks cannot be accepted either by Greece or the international community". [04] Blair says EU accession will be difficultBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair, replying to questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday 1.4.98, welcomed the start of EU accession negotiations with Cyprus, but said it will be far more difficult for the accession to take place properly within the context of a divided island.He said that, although a political settlement to the Cyprus problem was not a precondition for accession, the situation on the island was "extremely difficult". "We have made sure that a settlement should not be a precondition of access, but we want the Turkish Cypriots to participate in the process", he said and added that efforts to persuade them to participate as part of the Cyprus delegation would continue. "In the end we cannot make this work unless both parts of the island want to work together," he said. [05] President Clinton sends Cyprus progress report to CongressThere were negative developments on the Cyprus issue, including on December 27 suspension by Turkish Cypriots of bicommunal contacts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, US President Bill Clinton said in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.The letter accompanying a periodic report to Congress on efforts towards a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus problem, covering the period 1 December 1997 to 31 January 1998, says that international efforts on the Cyprus issue slowed during that time in anticipation of the February Presidential elections in Cyprus. He noted, moreover, that "Turkey perceived the Luxembourg EU Summit as a setback to its goal of closer integration with Europe". [06] UN Secretary-General's report on UNFICYP's financesThe UN Secretary-General has proposed a decrease of 10.4 per cent in the budget for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for the 12-month period July 1998 to June 1999.A total budget of about $43 million gross is proposed in the addendum report on the financing of UNFICYP released on 23 March. This amount includes voluntary contributions towards the cost of the force totalling $20 million made by the Republic of Cyprus ($14 million) and of Greece ($6.5 million). The UN General Assembly is also requested to approve the remaining $23 million. The report adds, moreover, that from 1993 to 1997 voluntary contributions from the governments of Greece and Cyprus totalled nearly $100 million. The budget is for the maintenance of the Force, which consists of 1,230 contingent personnel and 35 civilian police monitors, supported by 265 (44 international and 221 local) civilian staff. [07] Destruction of Cyprus' cultural heritage condemnedThe European Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (EIAO) has condemned the destruction of the cultural and religious heritage in the Turkish- occupied areas of Cyprus, describing it as a crime against humanity.In a resolution, submitted by MP Doros Theodorou and unanimously approved at the two-day meeting in Athens, the EIAO calls for action against this destruction. The Assembly condemns the occupation of 37 per cent of Cyprus' territory by Turkish troops, since they invaded in 1974, and "the implementation of a policy of ethnic cleansing by the occupying force." It also expresses "deep concern" about the planned conversion into a hotel, of the Armenian Monastery of Saint Makar, in the occupied Pendadaktylos mountain range. [08] House approves patent billThe Cyprus House of Representatives yesterday approved a bill tightening up local patent law by bringing it into line with EU regulations.Speaking after the bill was passed, the head of Cyprus's EU accession talks delegation, George Vassiliou said that approval of the bill had been crucial to the island's accession course. "Had the bill not been approved it would have jeopardised the accession talks process," he said. From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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