Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 02-01-21

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

Monday, 21 January 2002

CONTENTS

• [01] Egypt will continue to unequivocally support Cyprus' struggle for a settlement
• [02] US would support Cyprus' EU accession even if the negotiations did not progress

[01] Egypt will continue to unequivocally support Cyprus' struggle for a settlement

During the meeting Mr Maher assured Dr Lyssarides that Egypt would continue to unequivocally support Cyprus' struggle for a settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Mr Lyssarides briefed Mr Maher on the latest developments in the Cyprus question, noting that the Greek Cypriot side is participating in the direct talks, ready to work intensively for a solution to the Cyprus problem. The obstacle to the solution was and still is Turkey, which insists on a solution of "two states" on the island, thus destroying every effort for a substantive dialogue, he said. Referring to Cyprus' EU accession course, Mr Lyssarides noted that Cyprus is a physical bridge of communication between Europe, the Middle East and the Arab countries.

Responding to Dr Lyssarides' request for Egypt's support to prevent Turkey from promoting the acknowledgment of the so-called "realities" on the island by Islamic states, Mr Maher said that his country's position on this issue was explicit and that Egypt supported the Cyprus Government's positions.

Dr Lyssarides also met with the Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Mr Yousuf Wali and with the Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament Mr Ahmad Fathi, whom he also briefed on developments in the Cyprus question and the island's EU accession course.

During these meetings both sides expressed the need for further enhancement of bilateral relations in all fields. The Egyptian officials said they looked forward to the role Cyprus would play as a member state of the EU, with regard to Europe's relations with the Arab world.

[02] US would support Cyprus' EU accession even if the negotiations did not progress

Mr Miller referred to the Cyprus problem as a very important issue that needs to be solved and underlined that Cyprus' accession to the European Union "has been a very positive catalyst" in bringing about the current direct talks on Cyprus.

He stressed that the United States have uniformly said that they supported Cyprus' European Union accession and that they would still support it even if the negotiations did not progress.

'We would hope that it would be the accession of the entire island, but if it isn't, if the negotiations do not progress, we still support Cypriot accession to the EU", he said.

"Another catalyst is obviously the fact that these two gentlemen, Clerides and Denktash, have been at this for many, many years and they are not getting any younger - nor is their health getting any better. And I think they both believe that they can probably bring about a better deal for their interests, their people, than possibly their ancestors", he added.

Replying to a question, Mr Miller said that the US would obviously prefer a united island to accede to the European Union but stressed that if that were not possible the US would not "want to give one side the ability to stop or to blockade the process and kind of hold the accession process prisoner".

Asked by a representative of the Turkish Embassy what he thought would be the outcome of the direct talks on Cyprus, Mr Miller said he believed there could be a solution to the Cyprus problem and that the solution would be one that would satisfy the basic underlying needs of both sides. He described President Clerides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Denktash as quite capable in bringing about the solution to the Cyprus problem, due to the fact that they knew all the issues very well.

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

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