Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 02-12-12

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

Thursday, 12 December 2002

CONTENTS

• [01] President Clerides meets Greek Prime Minister in Copenhagen
• [02] Alvaro de Soto's statements in Copenhagen
• [03] UN hopeful that Copenhagen will bring a Cyprus settlement
• [04] Greek FM says negative messages from Turkish side
• [05] Romano Prodi's statements on Cyprus in light of Copenhagen Summit
• [06] Italy supports Cyprus' EU accession bid
• [07] British EU MP: Cyprus should be allowed to join the EU in 2004
• [08] Cyprus condemns any act of violence in the Middle East

[01] President Clerides meets Greek Prime Minister in Copenhagen

The Government Spokesman, Mr. Michalis Papapetrou, speaking after the meeting, said that the conclusion was that "Cyprus' accession is proceeding smoothly" and that during today's meeting of the 15 "it is expected that a decision will be taken on enlargement, which will be ratified with the approval of the relevant document on Friday".

On the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, Mr. Papapetrou noted, "the Greek Cypriot side has expressed its readiness long ago to reach an agreement on the Cyprus problem, in order to bring an end to the partition and occupation of our island and the deadlock. So far, Turkey has not shown the necessary will in order to reach this goal."

"I would not like to express particular optimism about these efforts in the near future, judging by the statements made both by Mr. Denktash and Turkey. However, these statements do not bend the resolve and readiness of the Greek Cypriot side, but instead move the weight to the Turkish Cypriot side", Mr. Papapetrou concluded.

[02] Alvaro de Soto's statements in Copenhagen

He also voiced hope that the two sides in Cyprus would sign "what the Secretary-General had asked them to sign".

Mr. De Soto said that there was no plan for Mr. Annan to travel to Copenhagen.

[03] UN hopeful that Copenhagen will bring a Cyprus settlement

Speaking during yesterday's briefing of the press, Mr. Eckhard informed reporters that both President Clerides and the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Cyprus, Mr. Alvaro de Soto, were in Copenhagen, where the Summit would be held.

He also said that consultations took place on Tuesday in Cyprus on the revised proposal put forward by the Secretary-General. "The Turkish Cypriot leader, His Excellency Rauf Denktash, was unwell and not able to see the Secretary-General's Special Advisor, Alvaro de Soto, in the afternoon", the UN Spokesman said, adding that Mr. de Soto met with Mr. Denktash's advisor, Mr. Ergun Olgun, instead. "De Soto spoke to Denktash last night [Tuesday] by telephone", he noted.

Asked who would be representing the Turkish Cypriot side in discussions with the UN, Mr. Eckhard said that he had not received any information on that point.

Invited to say whether the Secretary-General would travel to Copenhagen, he replied that there were no plans for him to do so at that time (noon, local time).

Asked if the UN had indications that both sides were willing to reach an agreement, he expressed hope that Copenhagen "will provide the context and deadline for an agreement", adding that "we are trying to get them together to close the final gap".

[04] Greek FM says negative messages from Turkish side

Speaking to the press in Copenhagen last night, after a meeting between President Clerides and the Greek Premier Mr. Costas Simitis, Mr. Papandreou noted, in reply to a question, that "we see a tendency of retracting by the Turkish side and this, definitely, does not make us very optimistic about a solution, at least at this moment". He stressed, however, that a substantive dynamic must be sustained.

Mr. Papandreou also spoke of the three objectives of the Greek side, namely, the smooth decision at Copenhagen for the accession of the ten candidate states, including Cyprus, the solution of the Cyprus problem, and the upholding of Turkey's European course, something which "in the end, would be in the interest of Hellenism" as he noted.

With regard to the first objective, he expressed the conviction that Cyprus would be in the group of countries to join the EU in this wave of enlargement, as "both Greece and Cyprus have worked for many years in this direction" and that Cyprus "was the first candidate state to close all the negotiating chapters".

"In the efforts for a solution of the Cyprus problem, Cyprus has shown, in the most positive and constructive manner, its moves, initiatives and efforts", he added.

Speaking to the press earlier yesterday in Athens, prior to the Greek delegation's departure for Copenhagen, Mr. Papandreou did not hesitate, when asked by a reporter, to reassure the Greek and Cypriot people that "the Republic of Cyprus will join the EU without conditions".

He added that the European Commission was preparing a protocol on Cyprus' accession, which stated that the whole island would join the Union but the acquis communautaire would only be applied in the area controlled by the Cyprus Government. Once a solution was found, Mr. Papandreou noted, the other part of the island would join automatically, as in the case of Germany.

"This is a right protocol, and it proves that there are no conditions to Cyprus' accession", he concluded.

[05] Romano Prodi's statements on Cyprus in light of Copenhagen Summit

Speaking during a press conference in light of the Copenhagen Summit, yesterday in Brussels, Mr. Prodi stressed, with regard to Cyprus, that there was a "historic opportunity" for reaching a settlement, adding that "we would prefer for a reunited Cyprus to accede".

"At Copenhagen, our course is clear, and we are ready to conclude with Cyprus and as it is", he noted.

On Turkey, Mr. Prodi repeated that it did not comply with the Copenhagen criteria for accession, adding that the future negotiations with Turkey would begin once those criteria were fulfilled, as it was the case with all the other candidate states.

[06] Italy supports Cyprus' EU accession bid

Speaking after his meeting with the Cyprus Foreign Minister, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, yesterday in Rome, Mr. Frattini voiced his satisfaction over the positive outcome of Cyprus' negotiations with the EU and wished for a speedy solution of the Cyprus problem.

On his part, Mr. Kasoulides informed his Italian counterpart on the latest efforts for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem and the successful conclusion of Cyprus' accession negotiations. He also reiterated the Cyprus Government's commitment to negotiate on the proposals put forward by the UN Secretary-General on 11 November 2002.

[07] British EU MP: Cyprus should be allowed to join the EU in 2004

In a letter sent to Mr. Straw yesterday, Mrs. Villiers pointed out that Cyprus is one of the ten countries expected to join the European Union in May 2004. "Cyprus has now closed the majority of chapters necessary to fulfil the community acquis and the European Commission's recent report on the accession negotiations confirms that Cyprus should be included in the first wave of enlargement", she said.

The Conservative Party does not believe that Cyprus' accession should be dependent upon finding a solution to its internal problems, she said, and added: "We welcome the UN plan as a basis for negotiations for a settlement. We very much hope that we will soon see an end of almost thirty years of the island's division. An end to the Cyprus problem is desperately needed."

She stressed however, that "a hurried settlement may not prove to be a lasting settlement. The UN has set a very tight timetable for talks. A failure to complete the talks in this time should not affect the Cypriot accession".

"I ask for your assurance that the British government will do all it can to ensure that nothing is allowed to hinder Cyprus on the path to EU accession", she concluded.

[08] Cyprus condemns any act of violence in the Middle East

The Israeli raid of December 6, 2002, that was directed against the refugee camp of El-Bureij in Gaza, as a result of which 10 Palestinians died, cannot in any way be justified, nor can it be legitimised under any circumstances.

The Cyprus Government wishes to express its condolences to the families of the victims and speedy recovery to all those who were injured during the attack.

At the same time, it wants to emphasise that it recognises Israel's legitimate right to defend itself and its citizens from any kind of terrorism that is directed against them. It cannot, though, sanction the use of force that is directed against innocent civilians, nor can it support the practice of extra-judicial killings.

Cyprus once again wishes to reiterate its support for the Middle East peace process as the best way to achieve peace, security, stability and prosperity for the entire area. For this reason, it is against the use of violence by any side, since it tends to undermine any effort that aims at the reconciliation and the peaceful co-existence of all the people in the region.

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

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