Millett: talks will continue to be tough

THE UK continues to fully support UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus, British High Commissioner Peter Millett said yesterday, expressing hopes for “further progress” toward a settlement in the coming months.

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, the outgoing High Commissioner said that as a guarantor power the UK would continue to support peace talks.

Millett noted the “important” progress achieved in the negotiations between President Demetris Christofias and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mehmet Ali Talat over the past 18 months, stressing that the talks are a Cypriot-led process. He conceded that the negotiations have been and would be continue to be tough.

Millet skirted a question on a mooted international meeting on Cyprus featuring the three guarantors, the EU and the UN, Cyprus, and representatives of the island’s two communities, saying:

“This is a Cypriot led process. It will therefore be up to the two leaders, in collaboration with the United Nations, to decide how to take forward the settlement process. The UK, as a guarantor power, will continue to support these talks.”

Millett described Britain as a “crucial economic partner”, saying that the Cyprus-UK Business Association has provided a solid foundation on which the business world can build greater trade links.

He welcomed the growing cooperation and sharing of technical know-how between the two nations in such areas as hooliganism, crime, terrorism, immigration and political asylum issues.

On a more personal note regarding his stay on the island, Millett said it has been “a pleasure” getting to know Cypriots from all walks of life.

“I have enjoyed visiting all parts of the island and developing contacts and friendships in places like Limassol and Paphos. Visiting the beautiful areas of the Akamas, Troodos and the Karpas enabled me to see the most beautiful corners of this island. I hope that the unspoilt beauty of these areas will be protected for the future benefit of Cypriots and tourists,” he said.

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.