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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-04-18

Cyprus Press and Information Office: News Updates in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

  • [01]Friday, 18 April 2003 Annan says political will necessary for new peace initiative in Cyprus
  • [02] "Three types of measures for T/C to be announced", says President
  • [03] Powell: Washington remains firmly commitment to Cyprus settlement
  • [04] Law Office statement on 'Financial Times' report

    [01] Annan says political will necessary for new peace initiative in Cyprus

    The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, made reference to Cyprus during his statement at the informal EU Summit in Athens yesterday, expressing his disappointment that Cyprus was joining the EU as a still divided island. On his latest intensive peace efforts in Cyprus, the Secretary-General noted, "I believe the plan that I put forward is fair and balanced, and should still serve as the basis for an eventual settlement of that conflict. A unique opportunity was missed but I do not doubt that there will eventually be a settlement. All that is lacking is the necessary political will." Commenting on the aforementioned statement by Mr Annan, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, noted that the Secretary-General knew 'first-hand' that the Greek Cypriot side had shown the necessary political will in The Hague, adding that Mr Annan was making the same assessment in his report to the Security Council. President Papadopoulos further said that pressure should be exerted on those who undermined the peace process in The Hague, pointing out that vague and unclear statements were not helping the efforts for reaching a settlement. "Our position is that the Annan Plan entails positive points, and that with substantive negotiations and necessary additions and amendments primarily relating to the functionality and viability of the Plan - as I have stated in written on 28 February 2003 - it can lead to a solution of the Cyprus problem", Mr Papadopoulos said.

    [02] "Three types of measures for T/C to be announced", says President

    "The Cyprus Government is already examining a series of measures, not measures for a solution but until a solution arrives, so that we can support Turkish Cypriots and give out the message that there is hope for them to be able to share the commodities and benefits from Cyprus' accession", President Tassos Papadopoulos noted during a press conference yesterday in Athens, after the conclusion of the informal EU Summit where Cyprus, along with the other nine acceding countries, signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Union. President Papadopoulos explained that the measures could be categorised into three types. The first type involved measures that the Cyprus Government would take irrespective of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, and those would be announced once they were ready for implementation. The other type of measures would require approval by the European Union, and for that reason the Government was holding official talks with EU representatives to the island. The third type, Mr Papadopoulos noted, was the most significant and required the collaboration of Turkish Cypriots and Mr Denktash in particular. These were measures on issues of employment, pension schemes and other social insurance benefits, and Mr Denktash's consent was necessary, unless Turkish Cypriots would decide to overstep their leader and claim the measures on their own. The Cyprus President expressed hope that the measures could be announced within ten days, after consultation with the European Commission to ensure that they were in compliance with the acquis communautaire. He added that Turkish Cypriot political parties would also be consulted, albeit their approval of the measures was not a condition. Asked by journalist to say whether he feared that the measures would cause a "provocative" reaction by the Turkish Cypriot leadership, President Papadopoulos replied that Mr Denktash needed Turkey's consent to take any "provocative" action, and if Turkey was to give its consent it would seriously harm its EU accession course. Mr Papadopoulos further said that the 16th of April "is not a victory for us and a defeat of Mr Denktash, but it is a victory for all the people of Cyprus". He also expressed his sadness that Turkish Cypriots could not join in the joy of singing the Accession Treaty, and reiterated the position that "it is to the benefit of the entire Cyprus people that Turkish Cypriots should join us in prosperity, peace and democracy."

    [03] Powell: Washington remains firmly commitment to Cyprus settlement

    The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said that the United States remained "firmly committed" to working with the EU and others to find a just and durable settlement for Cyprus. Speaking at a reception given by the Greek Embassy in Washington D.C., last Wednesday, to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Accession of the EU by ten new members, Mr Powell pointed out that "even as Europe unites, and works with us for peace and reconciliation across the globe, all of us are aware that one of the European Union's new members remains divided." He further said that the US continued to be a strong proponent of the EU's further expansion, and welcomed the EU's goal of membership for Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 as well as its decision to begin accession negotiations with Turkey "if in December 2004 the European Council decides that Turkey has fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria". Mr Powell then urged Turkey to meet the Copenhagen criteria, so that European leaders could implement their "visionary decision…to build a truly inclusive European Union".

    [04] Law Office statement on 'Financial Times' report

    Regarding a report published in the ''Financial Times'' newspaper, on 15/4/2003, under the title ''Greek Cypriot Leader's Law firm linked to funding web for Milosevic'', the Law Office of the Republic of Cyprus wishes to clarify the following: The said report is full of inaccuracies and allegations which do not reflect the true facts. As regards the interrogation ordered by the Attorney General in connection with the allegations made by Mrs Radencovic and Mrs Budisin referred to in the report, a Request was sent to the Yugoslav authorities, through the diplomatic channel, asking inter alia, for permission for a Police interrogator and a Counsel of the Republic to visit Belgrade in order to take depositions from the above persons, as well as others, for the ongoing interrogation purposes. Despite repeated efforts and reminders sent, through the competent Ministry and Interpol, we have not yet received any reply to the said request. Furthermore, the report fully ignores, once again, the role played by many other countries in the whole financial system used by the then Yugoslav regime during the period of the ''embargo'' against the country, some of which seem to have been supplying the regime with military equipment as mentioned in the ''Torkildsen'' Report quoted by the journalist. Moreover, the allegation that Mrs Carla Del Ponte of the International Criminal Court for former Yugoslavia has not been given documents relating to specific companies is untrue. All relevant documents were received by the Court's interrogators during their visit to Cyprus in June 2002 and for this specific cooperation we had received a letter of thanks from the said interrogators. The author of the news report had visited Cyprus and met with competent officials, including the Attorney General. Our cooperation with the International Court for former Yugoslavia had been explained to her. We express our regret for the said news report, the expediency of which raises questions and ultimately harms the Republic of Cyprus.

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


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