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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 98-07-14
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
News Update
Tuesday, 14/07/98
CONTENTS
- [01] President Clerides meets Russian President
- [02] Destruction of cultural heritage in occupied Cyprus denounced
- [03] EU candidate countries to step up harmonisation process
[01] President Clerides meets Russian President
President Clerides, who is on a four day visit to Moscow, met yesterday
with his Russian counterpart Boris Yeltsin. During the meeting they
discussed subjects of common interest as well as the Cyprus problem.
Later in the day the Cypriot President attended a lunch given by Russian
Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and in the afternoon he attended the
opening of the World Youth Games, as a guest of honour of the mayor of
Moscow.
[02] Destruction of cultural heritage in occupied Cyprus denounced
In a recent letter to UN Secretary General Koffi Annan, the Permanent
Representative of Cyprus to the UN Mr. Sotos Zackheos protested strongly
against the continuing violation of the religious and cultural identity of
the occupied part of Cyprus.
Mr Zackheos makes reference to the most recent documented violations,
namely the desecration and partial destruction of the Church of the Holy
Virgin, which is being used as a potato warehouse, in the village of
Makrasyka, and the vandalism of the adjoining cemetery.
Noting that more than 500 churches in occupied Cyprus have been destroyed
or looted, an act that is in complete contravention of the 1954 "Convention
for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" and
the UNESCO "Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural
Cooperation", the Cypriot Ambassador concluded that it is high time the
international community ceases to remain indifferent towards the aforementioned
Turkish actions.
[03] EU candidate countries to step up harmonisation process
Cyprus and the five Central and Eastern European countries that started
accession negotiations with the EU last March, met yesterday for the third
time in Ljubliana (Slovenia) for an exchange of views on their countries'
accession course.
After the meeting the Slovenian Minister without portfolio for European
Affairs , Mr. Bavcar stated that the candidate countries' chief negotiators
have favoured the immediate commencement of accession talks by this autumn,
during the Austrian Presidency. They have therefore agreed to step up
preparatory work in seven fields and to submit their negotiating positions
to the Commission by mid-September.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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