Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 09-01-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] PRESIDENT BRYZA MEETING

[02] PRESIDENT CYPRUS ISSUE

[03] CY FLEET RENEWAL

[01] PRESIDENT BRYZA MEETING

Speaking after being received by President of the Republic Demetris Christofias, Bryza said the two had a very insightful, constructive meeting, noting one doesnt want to be overly optimistic.

The US diplomat said he has been working on the Cyprus question for a long time and people have been working on it much longer than he has and every set of ideas has been explored, has been thought about, and there comes a time where certain ideas can be assembled in a way to move forward.

He said that during his meeting with Christofias he had the chance to listen in great depth, to the philosophy of President Christofias approach and I am absorbing this, digesting it and discussing it with the ambassador and look forward to a chance to hear more from Mr. (Alexander) Downer and the Foreign Ministry here and then head to the north to hear a bit from Mr. (Mehmet Ali) Talat and then to Ankara tomorrow to try to support the effort of the leaders themselves and help them improve their communication if we can do that. So I feel positive after this meeting, he remarked.

Bryza said his country 100% support the efforts, the question is how actively do we support them and we can only support them as actively as they wish us to.

Asked if the Obama government is planning to bring new initiatives or any new ideas in the Cyprus process, Bryza replied that it is too early to tell what President Obamas government will do. In six days we will know a little bit more when he occupies the office. And we dont even have the confirmation of Secretary of State Clinton yet, so it is too early to tell but as I said in the opening, it is not for us to bring new ideas to the process because so many ideas have been out there for so long by people who have spent their lives working on the Cyprus problem.

We can maybe help the sides find just the right mix of ideas at the right moment, he added.

Asked if after listening to President Christofias, he is now able to revise his views concerning the room that Talat has to negotiate, Bryza remarked that the assessment of how much room anybody has to negotiate is totally subjective. And the person who is doing the negotiating himself or herself has a view that may change from day to day.

I simply sense that there is room on both sides, the US diplomat said, adding that the attitudes are quite different from where they were before September 3rd or before last March. Theres defensiveness, there is caution on both sides, including Mr. Talat and in Ankara but I do think he has a chance to negotiate seriously.

To a remark that Talat has not been able to do anything about the opening of Limnitis checkpoint, despite of his commitments, Bryza said that it depends on which problem you select. Over the issues you mentioned we wish things would move faster, but in other areas in the negotiations things have moved a bit. So I would caution everybody from not picking any one issue and using that as a Litmus test for success, he concluded.

President Christofias and Talat have been engaged in direct negotiations since early September last year, aiming at reunifying the island, divided since the Turkish invasion of 1974.

[02] PRESIDENT CYPRUS ISSUE

Receiving the credentials on Tuesday of the new Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Galym Orazbako, Christofias reaffirmed his commitment to achieve a reunified homeland for all Cypriots.

Referring to the progress of the full-fledged negotiations that began early September 2008, between himself and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mehmet Ali Talat, Christofias said that despite our intensive efforts, after four months of work I do not have real progress to report.

He remarked that a number of secondary issues have been agreed but remain, however, significant differences of approach to the issue of the Powers and Functions of the Central Government, the system of Governance, as well as on foreign relations.

[03] CY FLEET RENEWAL

CY Executive Chairman Kikis Lazarides said Tuesday that CY has an agreement with Aircraft Solutions A320 LLC, a subsidiary of TPG Credit Management L.P. and Universal Asset Management, to place to their disposal two more of its old �320, which will be replaced.

Last November, Cyprus Airways leased one �319, in the framework of its policy to renew its fleet. The CY fleet comprises now 11 aircraft.

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