Holbrooke highlights political problems

By Jean Christou

THE UNITED States, the European Union and the United Nations must take leadership roles if the Cyprus problem is to be solved, US presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke has said.

Holbrooke made the comments in an address at Colombia University in the US.

“The reality of the Cyprus problem is that pressure has to be brought to bear at the highest levels,” Holbrooke said.

He added, however, that the involvement of third parties could not always be neutral.

“There are times when you can’t remain morally neutral because there are times when one side is right and one side is wring.”

Holbrooke is expected to become seriously involved in new efforts to solve the Cyprus problem after the elections.

He said the issues of substance dividing the two communities were not so “technically” difficult.

“What is difficult is the political aspect, which is real and deep,” he said.

Holbrooke said that to bring about a solution, these differences had to be discussed by the governments of Greece and Turkey, and by both sides.

The Cyprus problem is expected to be raised today at London talks between British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The issue was discussed in London yesterday at a working lunch that Cook had with UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides said yesterday he was not aware of the meeting.

A British Foreign Office spokesman said Annan and Cook had a “friendly discussion”.

Meanwhile, US State department spokesman Jim Foley has reiterated that Turkey has the right to raise the issue of the Paphos air base with the UN Security Council.

Foley said the US remained concerned about the increasing militarisation of Cyprus on both sides of the cease-fire line.

“We have been urging the parties all along to avoid taking actions and also making statements which result in increased tension in the region and that detract from efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace on the island,” Foley said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.