Obama hails new optimism in Cyprus

ILLINOIS Senator and US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama believes that the time has come for new optimism for a solution to the Cyprus issue, reports from Washington said yesterday.

In his opening remarks at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the confirmation hearing of Ambassador-designate to Cyprus Frank C.

Urbancic Jr, Obama, who was chairing the session, said he thought that this was time for “new optimism” after a long time of estrangement for Cyprus.

Referring to the recent opening of a crossing point at Ledra Street in Nicosia, Obama stated that “after four decades this was a tangible indication of the good will of both communities.”

He said that the two communities shared a “common home, history and destiny”.

Addressing Urbancic, Obama added: “I’m sure you will do everything in your power to help the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community to reach a just and lasting peace.”

Urbancic, a Turkish-speaking counterterrorism expert, is destined to replace Ronald Schlicher as Cyprus ambassador in the coming months.
He has in the past served as US Consul General in Istanbul when Turkey suffered one of its worst earthquakes in 1999, and more recently was responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of counterterrorism activities at the Office of the Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism.

As Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Kuwait, Urbancic negotiated access for US and coalition forces into Iraq in 2003 and twice served at the US Mission to the UN, and as Deputy Chief of Mission at US Embassies in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Freetown (Sierra Leone), and Doha (Qatar). He speaks French, Arabic, and Turkish.

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.