Cyprus problem will be on Clinton’s agenda

THE CYPRUS problem will be an important part of US President Bill Clinton’s trip to Athens and Ankara, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart has said.

Lockhart told his daily press briefing that Clinton would deal directly with the situation on the island during his visit to the region.

“The President will deal directly with the situation in Cyprus on this trip,” Lockhart said. “It’s an important part of the agenda.”

Clinton is expected in Athens on November 13 for a two-day visit. On November 15 he will travel on to Ankara.

A statement by the National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes, quoting from a letter sent by US Secretary of Defence William Cohen to two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “We have made clear our view to the Turkish leadership, including the military leadership, that the Turkish side must drop its preconditions for talks and come to the negotiating table.”

The Turkish Cypriot side is refusing to come to talks unless the breakaway regime in the north is recognised as a separate state and unless the issue of confederation is put on the table.

The Greek Cypriot side has agreed to return to talks without any preconditions, but UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan has not yet issued invitations to talks.

He was awaiting the results of a visit to the region by Clinton’s special envoy Alfred Moses, who conducted intensive shuttle diplomacy on the island. But the US envoy left Cyprus empty-handed after failing to persuade Denktash to resume negotiations.

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.