PRESS CONFERENCE BY president of cyprus

 

President Tassos Papadopoulos of Cyprus assured Secretary-General Kofi Annan today of his Government’s commitment to the agreement with Turkey concerning the Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots in the north of the divided island nation.

Speaking at a Headquarters press conference this morning, following his meeting with the Secretary-General, he said that, although the leaders of the two communities had not been idle, not enough progress had been made.  Working groups and technical committees had been established to deal with day-to-day problems and confidence-building measures, but, differences had emerged over procedural questions.  “Both communities have to refrain from playing games”, he said, adding that despite critical comments from the Turkish-Cypriot community, the Greek-Cypriot side had not responded in kind.

Asked if his country was causing problems for Turkey over its entry into the European Union, the President said that, on the contrary, Cyprus strongly supported “an orientation of Turkey towards Europe”.  However, that support was rightly conditioned upon Turkey meeting its obligations.

In response to a question as to whether his Defence Minister’s sudden resignation was related to allegations of paramilitary activity in the armed forces, the President said it was due to a medical problem that had been known to both men for several months.  He had asked the Minister, despite his ill health, to remain until the approval, in early September, of the defence budget, as he had been closely in negotiations on it.  As to the unrelated matter of alleged paramilitary activity, the Attorney General was conducting an investigation.

The President responded to a question about Lebanon by saying that the Secretary-General had opened their brief meeting this morning with an expression of appreciation for the assistance that Cyprus had given to evacuees and refugees from Lebanon.  Cyprus had a special empathy with the plight of refugees given that one third of its population were refugees in their own country.

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For information media • not an official record