FOREIGN Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides yesterday welcomed a UN Security Council statement on the face-to-face talks between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.
“The statement of the Council reflects the seriousness it attaches to the peace process and its desire to remain informed about these talks,” Cassoulides said prior to his departure the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Australia.
Cassoulides said UN the Secretary-general’s Special Adviser for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, would be briefing the Security Council once a month. Depending on developments in the talks, the UN will decide whether to issue a statement or not.
In its latest statement, the Security Council welcomed the start of the direct talks and the engagement in substantive discussions to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
The ‘Big Five’ also urged both leaders to approach the resumption of the talks on March 1 in a spirit of compromise and with a sense of urgency and political determination, so as to narrow the differences between them.
“The members of the Council share the view expressed by each of the two leaders that it should be the objective to reach agreement by June 2002 and that this objective is a feasible one,” the statement said.
“I consider this to be particularly important in relation to the intention of the Council and of the international community to monitor the peace effort,” Cassoulides said.
The Minister also welcomed remarks by current European Union Council president, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, that Brussels would decide on Cyprus’ accession irrespective of any progress in the ongoing UN-led effort to find a negotiated settlement.
Commenting on Aznar’s flying visit on Tuesday, Cassoulides said the Spanish Prime Minister’s comments had sealed EU decisions that the solution of the Cyprus question was not a precondition to the Republic’s accession.
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