Jean Christou
THE GOVERNMENT is expecting a third round of proximity talks to take place, spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said yesterday.
Papapetrou said a third round would probably take place after next April’s presidential’ elections in the north.
“The most decisive stage will be during the third round,” Papapetrou said.
A second round of proximity talks is scheduled to begin on January 27 in Geneva. It will be a continuation of the proximity talks begun in New York on January 3.
Papapetrou said no new invitation would be extended by UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan to the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides as both have already accepted to go to the second round.
He said the second round would be conducted by Annan’s special representative for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, who had a major role in the first round.
The second round will also be closely monitored by the US, with a team led by President Bill Clinton’s special emissary Alfred Moses.
“The US continues strongly to support the UN-sponsored Cyprus proximity talks process under the Secretary-general’s auspices,” said US embassy spokesman Walter Douglas yesterday.
In New York, US permanent representative to the UN and former Cyprus presidential envoy, ambassador Richard Holbrooke, told reporters he was encouraged that the two leaders had agreed to a new round of talks.
“If I said I was hopeful, I would be denying the history of the last 25 years,” Holbrooke said. “But I think it is encouraging that there will be a second round.”
The US also gave its opinion yesterday on the controversy over an addendum to the Secretary-general’s report on the renewal of the six-monthly Unficyp mandate.
The contentious addendum said the governments of Greece, Cyprus and Britain had agreed with the mandate extension. “The government of Turkey has indicated that it concurs with the position of the Turkish Cypriot party, namely that Unficyp can operate on both sides of the island only on the basis of the consent of both parties and that the Turkish Cypriot authorities will accordingly request Unficyp to work with them to develop modalities of Unficyp’s operations in northern Cyprus,” it added.
It prompted the Turkish side to claim last week that the breakaway state in the north had been recognised, which in turn angered the government.
President Glafcos Clerides summoned the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, but subsequent clarifications by the UN have been accepted.
“The addendum states the positions of Greece, the UK, Cyprus and Turkey in support of Unficyp,” said US State Department spokesman James Foley.
“The UN spokesman clarified on Friday that there had been no change in UN policy nor has there been any change in US policy of recognising only the government of the Republic of Cyprus.”
Foley reiterated that the US supported the role of the Secretary-general and his efforts to promote proximity talks on Cyprus.
