By Jean Christou
U.S. PRESIDENT George Bush and his National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice have told Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis that Ankara and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash must address the UN plan for a Cyprus settlement with an attitude of compromise — and do everything possible to bring about a solution within the framework set out by UN chief Kofi Annan.The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said Bush and Rice met Yakis on Friday at the White House to discuss Iraq. However, the Turkish official brought up the issue of Cyprus and requested Washington’s help to change the Annan plan, in a manner that would satisfy the ”concerns” of the Turkish Cypriot side.
The US administration said that it supports the Annan plan and that Denktash must become engaged in talks in a serious and constructive fashion.Replying to CNA questions after the meeting, Yakis said they briefly discussed Cyprus and the importance of a solution. He said that Ankara is co-operating with the US in efforts for a solution.In London a Foreign Office spokesman told CNA that Britain believes that if Cyprus is to join the EU as a united country, a solution to the political problem must be found by February 28.“Prospects after that do not adhere to the idea of another time limit in April,” the spokesman said.The fact that UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan will be visiting Ankara, Athens and Nicosia at the end of the month was “an important development”, he said, and added that the UN chief was “not a man to waste his time”.President Glafcos Clerides and the Turkish Cypriot leader are still engaged in talks aimed at reaching a settlement by February 28. Annan will visit Cyprus for a two-day visit on February 26 following contacts in Ankara and Athens.
The UN has warned that if an agreement is not reached by the February 28 deadline the entire basis of the Annan plan would be nullified since it provides for entry of a united Cyprus into the EU in April.
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.
