By George Psyllides
THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday a third version of the United Nations settlement plan for Cyprus would only be submitted if there was a give and take procedure during ongoing talks between the two sides.
Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said the government agreed with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou’s assertion that an effort for give and take had to precede a third revised plan.
Papapetrou suggested that in the absence of such a procedure, any changes to the current plan would be insignificant, since no one could unilaterally change anything to make it favourable for either side.
The Government Spokesman repeated that he could not confirm whether UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan would be visiting the island at the end of the month, adding that despite the information, there was no official notice concerning the matter.
On Tuesday, Greek Government Spokesman Christos Protopapas said Annan would visit Cyprus at the end of this month, following visits to Turkey and Greece.
“We have information; we don’t have any official notice,” Papapetrou said.
He added that the government would take the issue up with UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto when he returned today or tomorrow.
Commenting on Attorney-general Alecos Markides’ suggestion that a third plan would be in a take-it-or-leave-it form, Papapetrou said Markides was voicing his own opinion.
He said President Glafcos Clerides had a different view on the matter and, through public comments, the President wanted to send certain messages.
Regarding the talks between Greece and Turkey on security issues in Cyprus, Papapetrou said it was important that Turkey, which had refused to talk on several occasions in the past, was now willing to discuss the matter.
Papapetrou said the government was in “full and close contact” with the Greek government and there was “common planning, common positions and common understanding” on how the issue should be handled.
The UN has called on the NATO allies to press ahead with ironing out any security aspects of the blueprint before the UN’s February 28 deadline.
“The negotiations, according to our suggestion, should start as soon as possible, next week,” Greek Foreign Ministry Spokesman Panos Beglitis said in Athens yesterday.
Beglitis told a news briefing that Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou had sent a letter to his Turkish counterpart Yassar Yakis inviting Turkey to start talks on Cyprus-related security issues.
He said Greece suggested high-ranking foreign ministry officials and military experts from both sides should take part in the talks that would be held in Athens and Ankara alternately.
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.
