Weston welcomes ‘positive elements’ in Cyprus situation

THE NEW US Special Coordinator for Cyprus, Thomas Weston, yesterday spoke of the existence of “positive elements” for a Cyprus settlement.

Weston, who is conducting his first tour of the region since his appointment, was in Nicosia on Monday and yesterday discussed the Cyprus problem in Athens with Greek deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis.

“There are positive elements in the international environment, which may give us greater tools than we had in the past to address the problem,” the US diplomat said after meeting Kranidiotis.

Weston did not specify what these “positive elements” were, but there has of late been a considerable thaw in Greco-Turkish relations.

Weston said the status quoin Cyprus was “not the best possible alternative.”

“The division on the island remains a problem for us, for the international community,” Weston said, insisting the US was still keen to push for a settlement.

Kranidiotis expressed the hope Weston would be the last special envoy the US would have to appoint to Cyprus.

“We look to the initiatives of the UN and the help of the US and the EU. Cyprus can find a solution in the context of the EU and UN resolutions,” Kranidiotis said.

He urged the US to put pressure on Turkey.

In Nicosia meanwhile, Government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said President Clerides had repeated his proposal for demilitarisation of the island during his meeting with Weston on Monday.

The proposal is for a multi-national force to guarantee security for both island communities after a settlement, with the National Guard disbanding and Turkish forces abandoning Cyprus.

Papapetrou said there had been no direct reply to Clerides’s proposal from the US side.

Nothing was given away about the content of the Clerides-Weston talks on Monday, except that the government had repeated it would not accept preconditions Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has set for attending talks. Denktash wants his breakaway state recognised before he will attend settlement talks.

The UN are proposing a solution based on a bi-zonal, bicommunal federation.

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.