U.S. AMBASSADOR Donald Bandler said yesterday that a political settlement in Cyprus would require compromise and hard decisions but was optimistic that a solution could be reached.
Speaking to reporters at a farewell news conference, Bandler, who will be leaving the island after three years as ambassador, said the task to find a settlement would not be easy, “but it is within grasp”.
“I am convinced from my encounters with people across the island that Greek and Turkish Cypriots realise they have before them a better opportunity than ever before to reshape a common future,” Bandler said.
“For better or worse, the decisions Cypriots take leading up to the Copenhagen EU summit in December will have an important impact on Cyprus for years to come.”
Urging both sides to work for a settlement, he said: “A settlement is not only a commitment to your own future, it will also make a contribution to the process of Greek-Turkish rapprochement and security in the Mediterranean basin.”
Bandler referred to the co-operation between Cyprus and the US in various fields, including education, and hailed the bicommunal initiatives on the island, which the US supports together with the UN.
He said good examples of this were the ongoing projects to restore the Apostolos Andreas Monastery in the north and the Hala Sultan Tekke on Larnaca’s Salt Lake, building the Nicosia sewerage system and restoring walls and neighbourhoods of old Nicosia.
“As a result of these efforts, Cypriots from both sides have gotten to know one another and started to work together again,” Bandler said. “Their experiences and new links will make a settlement more likely to succeed,” he said.
Bandler also said he wished to thank all Cypriots for their support after September 11 and said his country greatly appreciated Cyprus’ support in the war against terrorism.
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.
