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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-03-07
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Friday, 07 March 2003 President Papadopoulos returns from Athens
[02] Simitis: discussion, not a one-worded answer at The Hague
[03] Negotiations on Annan plan can go on until 25 March, says UN
Spokesman
[01] President Papadopoulos returns from Athens
The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, said that
he and the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, had a "very useful and
constructive discussion" and that they assessed all possibilities and
scenarios at hand, in light of the Hague meeting on 10 March. Speaking
yesterday evening after his arrival from Athens, at Larnaca airport, Mr
Papadopoulos stressed that "the decision on what will happen is to be taken
in Cyprus by the National Council [the President's top advisory body on the
handling of the Cyprus issue]", adding that he would convey to the National
Council the Greek government's views at tomorrow's meeting. In reply to a
question, the Cyprus President said that the Greek Cypriot side's response,
at The Hague, to the UN Secretary-General's request for the holding of
separate referenda on 30 March would be "clear but not just one-worded". He
further explained that one-worded answers of the type 'yes or no' were not
customary, and that some discussion would have to take place in order to
see whether there was room for improvement. "Our position is, and remains,
that we want negotiations to be held, in an effort to improve the
provisions of the Annan plan. This does not mean re-negotiating all the
provisions of the plan, but only those which will make it functional and
therefore viable", he added. Mr Papadopoulos also said that he was not
aware of whether the Secretary-General would allow further negotiations at
The Hague, reminding that Mr Annan's invitation was for a 'yes or no'
response to his request. Invited to say whether all negotiations on the
plan should conclude by 10 March, Mr Papadopoulos replied, "I did not say
that such a thing is necessary. I have said that our wish is for negotiations
to be held on the substantive issues that we raised, so that the Cyprus
people can form an opinion on the plan."
The President also said that he had asked the members of the National
Council to accompany him at The Hague and that they all responded
positively. Taking that into consideration, "whether the final decision
will be taken here [Nicosia] or at The Hague, is something to be decided at
that National Council's next meeting on Saturday", Mr Papadopoulos
added.
[02] Simitis: discussion, not a one-worded answer at The Hague
The Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, expressed the view that the
response to be given at The Hague by the two sides should not be one-worded
answers but should entail some discussion. Speaking after his meeting with
the Cyprus President Mr Papadopoulos yesterday in Athens, the Greek Premier
stressed that what was important for the Greek side was not to say a 'yes
or no', but to achieve something that could guarantee peace, cooperation
and security in the region. Mr Simitis said he and Mr Papadopoulos
discussed the revised Annan plan, but most importantly, they assessed the
UN Secretary-General's invitation to meet with him at The Hague on 10
March. "The issue is how we respond to this invitation, what tactic will be
followed, and in light, of course, of the tactic and thoughts of the other
side", he added. He further noted that contrary to Mr Denktash' intransigent
stance, the Greek Cypriot side had proven its good will at the negotiating
table. "It is now up to the Cypriot leadership and the people to take
decisions on their future, the decisions that concern them", he stated,
while reassuring President Papadopoulos of the Greek government's
commitment to work closely with the Cyprus government for the solution of
the Cyprus problem, which remained "the top national priority".
Referring to Cyprus' EU accession course, Mr Simitis said that it
constituted a guarantee that any difficulties in a new period of the
island's history would be overcome. On Turkey's EU accession course, he
expressed his view that it was linked to the Cyprus problem, saying, "It is
clear that the European Union wants the settlement of pending issues, it
does not want dividing lines in Cyprus, and Ankara's road towards Europe
passes through the abolition of dividing lines in Cyprus."
Replying to a question on the procedure to be followed at the Hague meeting,
Mr Simitis said that the UN Chief had called him the night before to point
out "the necessity for the presence of all interested parties at The Hague,
in a manner that would allow decision-making." In reply to another question,
he said that the issue of security had also been discussed with Mr
Papadopoulos, noting that "so far our invitation to the Turkish side for
discussion has not been accepted, due to the issue of Iraq".
Mr Simitis further said that his meeting with the Cyprus President was
"constructive and long", pointing out that "it led to common assessments".
On his part, the Cyprus President, Mr Papadopoulos, said that he agreed
with all that Mr Simitis had stated, adding that their meeting was held
under conditions of "total agreement and cooperation". Mr Papadopoulos also
met with the leader of the Greek opposition, Mr Costas Karamanlis,
yesterday afternoon, prior to his departure for Cyprus.
[03] Negotiations on Annan plan can go on until 25 March, says UN
Spokesman
In answer to questions raised on Cyprus during yesterday's press briefing,
the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Mr Fred Eckhard, answered that
"Mr Kofi Annan has said that his plan for Cyprus is structured in such a
way that, should a positive outcome be reached in The Hague, the two
leaders can still - if both of them agree - make further refinements to the
plan up until 25 March 2003."
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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