SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES IN SWITZERLAND, 29 JANUARY - 1 FEBRUARY

The Secretary-General arrived in Geneva, from Moscow on the evening of Saturday, 29 January.

On Sunday, he had a strategy session with his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, in preparation for proximity talks on Cyprus that were to start the next day.

On Monday morning, he presided over the talks, meeting first with H.E. Mr. Glafcos Clerides, and then with H.E. Mr. Rauf Denktash. Each of those meetings began with a one-on-one session with the Secretary-General followed by a session with the full delegation.

Those talks were expected to go on for about 10 days. From Tuesday, 1 February 2000, they were chaired by Mr. de Soto.

The Secretary-General also met on Monday morning with two of the special envoys who were in Geneva to follow the latest round of talks. He met first with the United Kingdom's Special Representative for Cyprus, David Hannay, and then with the United States Special Presidential Envoy, Alfred Moses.

At a press encounter at the end of the morning's meetings, the Secretary-General said that, while he did not expect to resolve the Cyprus issue at that session of talks in Geneva, "the atmosphere is good and I hope we will make progress in the next week to 10 days". Asked if he expected a comprehensive settlement by the end of the year, the Secretary-General said, "It is a hope. And I think we can achieve it if we all work hard enough and come into the discussion with the spirit of give and take."

That afternoon, he and Mr. de Soto met first with Ambassador Alexandros Sandis, Greece's Special Envoy on Cyprus and head of the Greek delegation on the talks, and then with the Under-Secretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Korkmaz Haktanir.

On other matters, the Secretary-General met in the afternoon with the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, Yves Berthelot, and with the United Nations Transitional Administrator for East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

He also saw Godwin Obassi, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, and Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Secretary-General departed for New York on Tuesday morning, 1 February.