PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos flew to Athens last night for a round of contacts with the Greek government in the wake of his meeting last week in Paris with UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.
Speaking on his departure from Larnaca Airport, Papadopoulos said he hoped that a resumption of the Cyprus talks would take place as soon as possible.
“It is being appreciated that it is a new initiative and a new effort properly to prepare negotiations so that the Cyprus problem will be examined in a constructive and useful manner,” he said.
Papadopoulos said that during his meeting with Annan he had explained that there were two parallel procedures.
“One is the preparation of talks on substantial aspects of the Cyprus problem, and the other to create a better climate,” he added.
“One course depends on the progress of the other.”
After the Paris meeting, Papadopoulos told reporters it had been agreed at the meeting that Varosha, dimilitarisation and settlers were among the issues that the technical committees from both sides would address in confidence-building measures.
The announcement upset the Turkish Cypriot leadership, which had assumed the measures would include everyday issues like waste management, water resource management and traffic congestion.
But the only evidence that can be cited to justify the government claim that the technical committees would be discussing the ‘big’ issues like the opening of Varosha, demilitarisation and the settlers is a paragraph in the joint communiqu? issued by Annan and Papadopoulos, stating that any progress made in these areas would be “beneficial”.
Asked if there was an official statement or reaction from Turkey concerning his meeting with Annan, Papadopoulos said: “We are anticipating the positions of the UN Secretariat and look forward to the start, the soonest, of the preparatory work which we hope will lead to an effort for a substantial discussion on Cyprus”.
He also said that he hoped the meetings of the technical committees would begin soon. “There is no deadline for their expiry,” he added.
During his visit, Papadopoulos will meet President Karolos Papoulias, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni and political party leaders.
Asked to comment on Bakoyianni’s interview in an Austrian newspaper in which she said the Annan plan was “history”, Papadopoulos said the Greek Foreign Minister had merely repeated “what has been said a long time now”.
“It is not possible to bring the Annan Plan back,” he added.
