PRESIDENT Clerides yesterday briefed the National Council on his latest contacts in New York and London.
The Council will meet again next month ahead of the third round of UN-led proximity talks due to start in New York on May 23.
Foreign envoys are due on the island before the next round, Britain’s special representative Sir David Hannay on May 5 and the UN mediator Alvaro de Soto on May 8.
Speaking after yesterday’s four-hour meeting, Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said the National Council, which brings together the island’s main party leaders, had discussed the issue of federation and begun to lay the groundwork for the tactics the government would follow in New York.
"The National Council will continue to pursue a solution based on Security Council resolutions," Papapetrou said.
Asked about the recent furore over who did and who didn’t want a federal solution, Papapetrou said: "Since this question has been asked, the National Council also discussed the recent noises made about the issue of a federation and I’m authorised by all members of the National Council to say that they will continue to pursue a federal solution based on the high-level agreements of 1977 and 1979 and within the framework of UN resolutions."
A row erupted recently when New Horizons, a party not represented on the National Council, said the majority of Cypriots did not want a federation. This was later borne out by a poll in a local newspaper.
The government has admitted that a federation is not its ideal choice for a solution, but believes it’s the best Cyprus can hope for.
The Turkish Cypriots are seeking a confederation of two ‘states’, although their breakaway regime is not recognised internationally.
Papapetrou also commented yesterday on the visit this week by US presidential envoy for Cyprus Alfred Moses to Ankara, where he met Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.
According to Turkish Cypriot press reports, Cem told a Turkish TV channel that there had been a development regarding the Cyprus issue, but that it was a "cautious development".
However, he also said that recent developments did not mean that everything would be solved, and that such hopes could lead to disappointment.
Cem said he told Moses that the "sovereign character" of the two sides on the island must be acknowledged and that believing that results could be obtained without these conditions would be misleading.
Papapetrou said the National Council did not base its decisions on information coming from such unconfirmed reports.
"Our side has not been fully informed yet about the contacts of foreign envoys in Turkey," he said.
