Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 02-09-13

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

Friday, 13 September 2002

CONTENTS

• [01] The window of opportunity must be utilized for a solution to be found
• [02] Greek Foreign Minister meets with his Turkish counterpart
• [03] Decision on Cyprus' accession will be made in accordance with the Helsinki conclusions
• [04] Cyprus will be one of the new member states to accede to the EU

[01] The window of opportunity must be utilized for a solution to be found

Mr Kasoulides is currently in New York at the head of a delegation, to represent Cyprus at the 57th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

On the sidelines of the UN Sessions, Mr Kasoulides had talks on Wednesday evening with the Prime Minister of Denmark Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen with whom he exchanged views on the present phase of the Cyprus problem in view of the European Councils of Brussels and Copenhagen. He also held talks with the Foreign Ministers of Austria and Belgium Benita Ferrero Waldner and Louis Michel.

On Thursday Mr Kasoulides had meetings with his Portuguese and Luxembourg counterparts Antonio Martins da Cruz and Lydie Polfer. At noon the Foreign minister attended a lunch given by the UN Secretary General, in honour of the Leaders of the States and Governments which are currently in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. In the evening, Mr Kasoulides attended a reception given by US President George Bush on the occasion of the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly.

[02] Greek Foreign Minister meets with his Turkish counterpart

"É would like to thank Foreign Minister Sukru Gurel, Sukru I will be calling you. I think what is very important from this meeting is that we have both found the will to continue on the course of cooperation and dialogue in trying to deal with many issues which over the years have divided us and already I think after three years of co-operation we have had positive results. We still have many things to deal with ahead of us but we have had with positive results which must continue and therefore I think that evidence of this is that we are continuing with the confidence building measures and with decisions such as the direct communication between our two Ministers of Defence and also the 'Hellenic-Turkish Standby Disaster Response Unit' that may be able to sign this the next few days in New York. We were able to discuss all issues that are important to us, regional issues and of course Iraq and the recent speech by President Bush and the developments there.

Obviously the EU, the prospect of Copenhagen, the Task-Force between our two countries, our exploratory talks on a bilateral level, and the discussions on Cyprus - all these were important discussions we had and I would like to thank-you for our first meeting and I look forward to our co- operation."

Replying to a question put forward by a Turkish journalist, on what was discussed in relation to the Cyprus problem, Mr Papandreou said:

"We exchanged views on this and I don't want to get into details because first of all this is something between the two leaders and of course the UN but we exchanged information on the situation as it is now"

Invited to comment on the issue of the European Union defining a date for the start of accession negotiations with Turkey, Mr Papandreou said that this was something that the 15 would decide after evaluating the progress report on Turkey, which is a review that goes through the responsibilities and the prerequisites that every country has to fulfil.

"I can only say from the Greek point of view that we have since 1999 supported the candidacy of Turkey, we feel this has been a positive effect for European-Turkish relations but also for the relations of the region and this dynamic has to be maintained. So that will be our stance," he concluded.

[03] Decision on Cyprus' accession will be made in accordance with the Helsinki conclusions

"And in the complicated area of peacemaking, the United Nations and the European Union work tirelessly to find solutions in the Middle East through the efforts of the Quartet and in finding a permanent settlement on Cyprus consistent with the relevant Security Council resolutions."

Moreover, the following paragraph on the Cyprus problem is included in a memorandum that the Danish EU Presidency attached to the text of its speech to the European Union:

"The EU reaffirms its commitment to furthering stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region as a whole, and fully supports the renewed efforts being made by the UNSG and his Special Advisor to broker a comprehensive settlement for the Cyprus problem consistent with the relevant UNSC resolutions. The EU supports the UN Security Council in urging both sides, and in particular the Turkish side, to cooperate fully with the Secretary- General's Special Advisor in such an effort, and calls on them to intensify and expedite their talks in order to seize this unique window of opportunity for a comprehensive settlement. The EU believes that while a settlement will facilitate the accession of Cyprus to the EU, the decision on Cyprus' accession will be made in accordance with the Helsinki conclusions."

[04] Cyprus will be one of the new member states to accede to the EU

Replying to a question on Cyprus the Danish Ambassador clarified that undoubtedly Cyprus will be one of the new member states of the European Union, since it is technically ready for accession. However, in view of the fact that there may be some developments in the talks after the elections in Turkey in November, the 15 will be pressed to evaluate the new developments in the short period of time that remains until the European Council at Copenhagen, he added.

Referring to Enlargement, which is the most important issue on the agenda of the Danish Presidency, Mr Christoffersen, underlined that Denmark is resolved to complete the accession negotiations with the candidate countries and to prepare the draft of the Accession Treaty, which will then be submitted to the European Parliament for approval, so that it can be ready for signing next April.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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