I would like to welcome you to the Cyprus House. I thought that we should get together especially at this important juncture, soon after the European Union leaders’ meeting in Brussels , which endorsed the European Commission’s Strategy Report “Towards the Enlarged Union” and the Progress Reports of the candidate countries. [Read more…]

I have completed this afternoon two days of intensive consultations on Cyprus with His Excellency Mr. Glafkos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and His Excellency Mr. Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader. [Read more…]

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, what about the Cyprus issue? You had a talk yesterday with President Clerides and Rauf Denktash, what is your assumption?

SG: Well, the talks aren’t over yet. They are meeting this morning and I will be meeting again with them this afternoon. We are pursuing our efforts and we are going to work very hard in the search for a solution. [Read more…]

Q: Sir, are the talks going to continue if Cyprus joins the European Union?

SG: We are going to meet with the two leaders this morning. And I hope that we, first of all, I’m going to assess what progress has been made since we last met in Paris , and what we need to do to accelerate the process. [Read more…]

Question: How is Mr. Denktash?  

Weston: I was very pleased to see that he is doing very well indeed.

Question: Did you make any new suggestions with regard to the final solution?   [Read more…]

Q: Sir, what are the expectations for the tomorrow meetings on Cyprus ?

SG: Expectations? Well, I hope they will both come here to discuss honestly with me what efforts have been made to make progress in the talks. The last time I met with them was the beginning of September. It is about a month, and I would want to review with them what has happened since then, and how we move forward as we get to the end of the year. And when I met with them in May, there were indications that we should be able to make progress by the end of the year. The end of the year is around the corner, so I want to review with them how we get there. [Read more…]

Question: Mr. President if there is another deadlock in this round of talks, what happens next?

President Clerides: It is not a deadlock in the sense we are going to walk out of the talks, either one side or the other, both sides will not walk out of the talks. The talks are more of a debating society and not a negotiating platform. Each side is developing its arguments, explaining its positions without convincing the other side. [Read more…]

Hurriyet: In ten weeks time the European Union will decide on the accession of new members, including Cyprus. In case it will be decided that Cyprus will become an EU member, how will this affect your Good Offices mission and the future of the high level talks? [Read more…]

Minister Kasoulides: I have followed the General Debate in the General Assembly and the main conclusion from this debate is that what has dominated the debate on all the issues that were raised was the necessity to implement the UN Resolutions. I think on the issue of Cyprus about which I am going to speak today, the cornerstone of any future peace and security is indeed the implementation of the Security Council resolutions. [Read more…]

I met today with each Cypriot leader, first with H.E. Mr. Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, then with H.E. Mr. Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, after which I hosted them for lunch together. [Read more…]