By Anthony O. Miller
U.S. AMBASSADOR Kenneth Brill said yesterday that Washington supported the renewed UN peace effort in Cyprus, and that the Clinton Administration would report to Congress on its probe into whether American weapons were in Cyprus in violation of US law.
After meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, Brill said they had “talked about our strong support for the UN effort,” to get the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides back to the negotiating table to re-open talks, which stalled nearly a year ago.
“I am not going to say anything about that, obviously, but we do support very much what the (UN) secretary-general, and what Dame Ann Hercus (the UN chief of mission in Cyprus) are trying to do,” Brill said.
Hercus has urged the leaders of both Cyprus communities not to speak to the news media about her shuttle discussions with both sides, which she began last Friday with a meeting with Clerides. She is scheduled to meet tomorrow with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, and then again on Thursday with Clerides.
Her aim is to reduce Cyprus tensions and promote a just and lasting Cyprus settlement. Some of that tension stems from the Republic’s purchase of Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, whose delivery has been postponed several times, most recently to sometime this winter. No definite delivery date has been set.
Turkey has threatened military action if the missiles are deployed, a threat Washington has cautioned Ankara against carrying out.
Asked why Washington did not ask Turkey to comply with US resolutions requiring Ankara to remove its occupation troops from Cyprus, Brill said: “We have a very robust dialogue on the Cyprus issue with all players. We are very consistent and direct in our discussions, and we will continue to be.”
As to the US probe into any US weapons brought into the island in violation of US law, Brill said: “We are working on it. We expect to be reporting to the Congress as soon as we can.
“And we are trying to do everything we can to make sure our law is being upheld… trying to make sure that all people who have received US military equipment in one way or another have done it in compliance with the law,” Brill said.
US law, which applies the whole of the island, forbids the transfer of US military equipment to the island if the transfer furthers the severance or division of Cyprus.
“If there are any indications that there is American equipment anywhere on the island, we will be interested in that, Brill said.
Turkey is reported to have recently bolstered its forces in occupied northern Cyprus by replacing many of its aging US-supplied tanks, artillery and other armour with newer American models.
In 1975, not long after Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus, the US Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for using American weapons – supplied to Turkey as a member of Nato – to invade the island, in violation of US law. That embargo was lifted in 1978.
