Clinton report notes rise in tension

THE HARASSMENT by Turkish fighter jets of the plane carrying the Greek Defence Minister during the Nikiforos exercises exacerbated tensions in the region, US President Bill Clinton has said.

In his bi-monthly report to Congress on Cyprus, Clinton referred to the rise in tensions in October and November during the Cyprus-Greece Nikiforos military exercises, and the subsequent Turkish-Turkish Cypriot Toros exercises.

“The exercises effectively ended the May 9 moratorium on overflights of Cyprus by combat aircraft,” Clinton said in his report.

The US President also said American diplomacy to advance progress towards a Cyprus settlement “continued at an intense pace” during the two months in question.

He referred to the visit by his special emissary Richard Holbrooke and other senior US officials, and to the meeting chaired by Holbrooke in Brussels in November with Greek and Turkish Cypriot businessmen “to discuss the mutual benefits of the economic co-operation in the region”.

A group of US Congressmen led by John Porter arrived on the island yesterday to meet both sides on the Cyprus question. The visit is part of a round of talks in Athens, Nicosia and Ankara.

The Cyprus problem is also the focus of attention at meetings taking place in Washington between British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

A senior US administration official yesterday reiterated American appeals to both sides in Cyprus to refrain from taking any action or making any statements that would increase tension or harm the peace process.

The official was responding to the government’s announcement that the Paphos air base would be delivered on January 24.

“We urge all parties to avoid taking actions or making statements that result in increased tensions in the region and detract from efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace on the island,” the official 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.