Cassoulides starts Euro tour

FOREIGN Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides will today leave Spain, where he has been holding talks with his Spanish counterpart Abel Matutes, for London, where he will meet British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

On his way to Spain, Cassoulides stopped off in Athens for talks with his Greek counterpart Theodoros Pangalos, as “part of regular contacts” between the Cypriot and Greek governments. All the meetings are in order to discuss the latest developments in the Cyprus situation and the island’s EU accession, substantive negotiations for which begin next week.

Speaking at Larnaca Airport prior to his departure on Sunday, Cassoulides warned that any further attempts to associate a settlement of the Cyprus problem with the EU accession would render the problem insoluble.

An attempt by France to link the two was scuppered by the EU last week.

“Any connection of the Cyprus problem to the accession course will signal the end of efforts to settle the Cyprus issue,” Cassoulides warned, adding that this would mean “a veto would be given to Turkey to decide when and if Cyprus will join the EU and will offer Ankara another reason to be intransigent in the Cyprus peace effort”.

Underlining once again the importance of Turkey’s role in any Cyprus settlement, he warned that such a stance would not be helpful in forging stronger and closer ties between the EU and Turkey.

Referring to the UN shuttle talks begun last month by UN permanent representative Dame Ann Hercus, Cassoulides said these constituted the first stage of a process that may lead to proximity talks and then direct negotiations. He refrained from disclosing any further details.

From London, Cassoulides will fly to Brussels on Sunday, where he is to represent Cyprus at the start of the substantive EU accession talks.

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.