PRESS BRIEFING BY PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS

Following his address in the general debate this morning, the President of Cyprus, Glafcos Clerides, answered a number of questions in a briefing to correspondents at the United Nations.

A correspondent said that in his speech in the General Assembly, Mr. Clerides had said he was ready for talks.  About a week ago, Turkish Cypriot leader RaufDenktash had made a proposal to have talks with Mr. Clerides.  That represented a quantum jump.  Why had Mr. Clerides rejected the offer? he asked.

Mr. Clerides replied that he had not rejected the offer.  He had said it would be necessary to meet once they both accepted to return to the negotiating table.  Mr. Denktash had wanted to bypass the good offices of the Secretary-General and go to direct talks when it had been he who had insisted on proximity talks.  He would be happy to meet with Mr. Denktash when he agreed to the negotiating process. Under those circumstances, he would not mind a meeting with just himself and

Mr. Denktash.  In this instance, however, he had not wanted to give Mr. Denktash the opportunity to put aside the good offices of the Secretary-General. Without the good offices of the Secretary General, it would not be possible to find a solution.

Another correspondent asked how the Cyprus problem would find a solution in the post-11 September environment.  Mr. Clerides replied that one had to be a realist.  International attention would now be focused on new situations created by the terrorist attack on the United States and the possibility of it being extended to other countries.  However, he had been told by the relevant governments that their interests would continue and their efforts to assist the Secretary-General in finding a solution would be maintained.

The Secretary-General had been giving Mr. Denktash more and more time and opportunity to return to the negotiating table, a correspondent said.  What did he expect the Secretary-General and the Security Council to do when would they ran out of time and patience? he asked.

He had asked the Secretary-General about how soon they thought they could bring Mr. Denktash to the negotiating table, Mr. Clerides said, but they could

not give a timetable.  Although he and others were considering alternatives if

Mr. Denktash did not come to the table, it was not the time now to speak of what they intended to do.

A correspondent noted that, in his address, Mr. Clerides had called on Turkey, as he had many times before, to understand the benefits of a Cyprus solution and to get back to the negotiating table.  What would make Turkey realize what he had been saying and to change its stance? he asked.  Mr. Clerides replied that the simple answer was a reasonable assessment of the benefits and liabilities.

The Turkish Cypriots said had they were ready to establish a new partnership between the two sides.  Since previous partnership had failed, was it not time to start a new partnership between the entities?

Mr. Clerides said the correspondent had been careful not to define who the partners were.  The bi-communal constitution was for a unitary State.  If there was

a move from a unitary State to a federal State, there would then be a new partnership.  Mr. Denktash wanted a new partnership between two sovereign States.  He accepted the idea of a federal State.  Mr. Clerides did not accept the notion of two federal States.

A correspondent said that one of the most important elements of the negotiations conducted last year had been the Secretary-General's statement on the equality of the parties.  The Greek Cypriot parliament had rejected that statement.  What was Mr. Clerides' position? she asked.  He replied that the House of Representatives had discussed that issue and the majority had said that Turkey had misinterpreted the Secretary-General's statement.  Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had said the statement was the beginning of a process of recognition.

Mr. Clerides said he had then asked the Secretary-General for an explanation.  His explanation had not agreed with the interpretation of Mr. Ecevit or Mr. Denktash. He had not presented that to the House of Representatives because the explanation had been given to him and not to the House of Representatives.  He was sure that had he told the House of Representatives of the Secretary-General's explanations, they would not have rejected it.

Asked if he had been surprised that the Turkish seats were empty during his speech in the general debate, he said no, he was used to it.  He would have been surprised if they had been there, he said.  In the eight years that he had addressed the General Assembly as the President of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish delegation had not been in their seats.

How concerned or disappointed was he about the United Nations Security Council's inability to reach consensus on a resolution or action regarding the situation between Palestine and Israel? a correspondent asked.  What would he like to see the United Nations do?  And, had it been a mistake for President Bush to not meet President Arafat while both were in New York?

Mr. Clerides stated that it was not his job to comment on what other presidents did.  He regretted the cycle of violence that existed between Israel and Palestine.  They would not find a solution through the current methods.  The only possible way to resolve the situation was through negotiations.  It was better to have negotiations when there were no clashes or killings to poison the atmosphere.  There would be a state of Palestine, and the sooner the Israelis negotiated with the Palestinians on that basis, the better it would be.

In response to a question about the general debate's focus on terrorism, he said he hoped that the General Assembly would condemn terrorists and that it would create a common front that opposed terrorists.  Most importantly, the Assembly had to make it clear that this was not a war between religions.  Terrorism should not be characterized in terms of religious or ethnic groups.  A United States citizen made the attack on the Federal Building in Oklahoma, but it was a terrorist attack, nonetheless.

What role would he like to see the United Nations play in resolving the Israel Palestinian question? he was asked.

The first objective should be that the good offices of the Secretary-General would be used in negotiations, he replied.  The United Nations had certain parameters which had been set by the Security Council and within which they were

bound to negotiate.  The Palestinian problem could not be solved by the use of force.  Having some form of a ceasefire agreement would be a prerequisite, and

the United Nations could have a role in supervising the ceasefire.  Certain negotiations should be carried out outside of Israel.  Cyprus had always been happy to provide a place to conduct such talks. 

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