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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-06-09
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Monday, 09 June 2003 Foreign Minister departs for USA for high-level
contacts with US and UN officials
[02] Britain believes that property issues can be resolved only through
comprehensive Cyprus settlement
[01] Foreign Minister departs for USA for high-level contacts with US and
UN officials
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Georgios Iacovou, departed yesterday
for the USA where he will have high-level meetings with US and UN officials
to discuss the Cyprus problem. Mr Iacovou will first visit New York where
he will meet with the UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan, his Special
Advisor on Cyprus Mr Alvaro de Soto, the President of the UN General
Assembly Mr Jan Kavan, the President of the UN Security Council Mr Sergey
Lavrov, and the representatives of the five permanent member states of the
Security Council. He will then go to Washington D.C. for talks with, among
others, the US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney, the US Secretary of State Mr
Colin Powell, the President's National Security Adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice,
and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mr Dennis Hastert.
Speaking yesterday upon his departure at Larnaca Airport, Mr Iacovou
pointed out that his planned contacts with high ranking US officials
reflected the US administration's high-level interest on Cyprus. He further
told journalists that during his talks with US and UN officials he would
put forward the Cyprus Government's positions on the Cyprus problem and
stress that the US and UN should exert pressure on Turkey to waive its
intransigence and contribute towards a settlement. The Cyprus Foreign
Minister added that he would also exchange views with his interlocutors on
the next steps to be made until Cyprus' accession to the European Union on
1 May 2004. Replying to a question on whether he thought any pressure would
be put on Turkey soon, he noted that Turkey was currently going through a
major political and economic crisis, something which rendered efforts for a
solution much more difficult.
During his stay, Mr Iacovou will attend events organised in the framework
of the World Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA) annual
meeting, and he will be honoured by PSEKA and the World Council of Hellenes
Abroad (SAE).
[02] Britain believes that property issues can be resolved only through
comprehensive Cyprus settlement
Britain believes that issues concerning property already purchased in the
Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus can be resolved only through a comprehensive
settlement of the Cyprus problem, the British Minister for Trade, Baroness
Symons of Vernham Dean has said. Answering a question by Lord Faulkner of
Worcester at the House of Lords last Wednesday, concerning the legal advice
that the British government was offering to its citizens who had bought or
were thinking of buying property in the occupied areas of Cyprus, Baroness
Symons noted that the government could not offer any kind of legal advice
on that matter. "We recommend that before purchasing, British citizens
appraise themselves fully of the situation created by the non-recognition
of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' and the possibility of a
future political settlement in Cyprus, and seek their own legal advice",
she said. She added that the question of the legality of ownership was one
for the courts and suggested that "the best way forward is to wait for a
final settlement and then see these issues resolved appropriately by the
courts". Asked by Lord Kilclooney why the British government had banned
British citizens in northern Cyprus from moving into the British Bases area,
she pointed out that "any person who has entered the island of Cyprus
through an unrecognised port of entry is considered an illegal immigrant by
the government of the Republic of Cyprus".
Baroness Symons welcomed the easing of restrictions on movement across the
ceasefire line, underlining, however, that it was not a substitute for a
comprehensive settlement on the basis of the UN peace plan. She further
said that the British government shared the UN Secretary-General's view
that the UN should not take any new initiative until the Secretary-General
was given proof of real political will by all parties to solve the Cyprus
issue.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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