US will persevere with Cyprus effort

DISAPPOINTMENT over the failure of Presidential Emissary Richard Holbrooke’s recent mission to Cyprus will not deter the American initiative, US Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering said on Friday.

Speaking at a lunch organised by Europe Magazine in Washington, Pickering said the US was disappointed with the outcome of Holbrooke’s mission, and in particular with Turkey for raising preconditions for further talks, including the recognition of the ‘TRNC’ and the suspension of Cyprus EU accession talks.

But in spite of this, he said, the US would “keep on moving” in the area.

There was, he added, no reason to abandon the process, stressing that what was needed was harder work “to persuade those who are not yet ready to move the process ahead.”

The US was, Pickering concluded, justifiably anxious to get somewhere on Cyprus, as the situation always posed a threat to stability, tensions and security in the region.

Meanwhile, US President Bill Clinton delivered a report to Congress on the results of the US administration’s investigation into the fate of the five American citizens missing since the invasion.

State Department Spokesman John Rubin said the report outlined the developments which had led to the discovery of the remains of Andreas Kassapis, one of the five, and concludes that “in all likelihood” the other four had not survived the invasion.

The investigation team, which worked closely with the Committee on Missing Persons on both sides of the island, found that despite the lack of “physical evidence” of the deaths of the other four, it would be “unrealistic” to hope that any were still alive — not least since the youngest would now be 84 — Rubin concluded.

Confirmation of Kassapis’ death had been given to his family by State Department Special Co-ordinator for Cyprus Thomas Miller, Rubin said.

Miller arrives on the island for further contacts today.

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.