DOWNER: “I WAS ENCOURAGED BY WHAT I HAVE HEARD”

The UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser for Cyprus Alexander Downer who came to the island at the weekend  and was received by President Mehmet Ali Talat, the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Demetris Christofias  and  with senior aides of the two leaders Ozdil Nami and Yorgos Yakovu yesterday, has held a press conference at the Ledra Palace Hotel at the UN controlled buffer zone.

Speaking there Mr Downer said that the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s decision to appoint a Special advisor to Cyprus reflects the high level commitment of Secretary General to assist Cyprus and it is a real honor for him to do this job.

Noting that it is the first time he is visiting Cyprus, Mr Downer said that this visit is part of his introduction to the Cyprus issue.

‘I was in New York last week and had a meeting with Secretary General and other senior officials there and I am glad to receive further briefings from the Special Representative Taye Brook Zerihoun and of course his team here in Cyprus’ Mr Dower added.

Touching upon his meeting with the two leaders this morning, he said he met with leaders to hear their assessments for the process and to see how best the UN would help to move the process forward.

‘The meetings went very well and I thank both of them for receiving me so warmly. I was encouraged by what I have heard. Clearly you have two leaders who are sincere in their commitment and in engagement to move the process forward together towards a comprehensive settlement.’ he noted.

He also added that the UN Chief is delighted with the leaders’ announcement on the 25th of July to begin fully fledge negotiations on the 3rd of September. He added that although the leaders did not  announce a  target date  for reaching a settlement, they did not say either that it would last for ever.

Stating that developments over the past month have posted a sense that the prospects have perhaps never been better to achieve a comprehensive settlement favorable to all Cypriots, he said he look forward to work with the two parties on the island adding he will be back to Cyprus in early September for the formal launch of the talks.

ERCAKICA: “NEW PARTNERSHIP STATE WILL CONTAIN ELEMENTS BOTH FROM THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS AND THE TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS”

Statement By The Presidential Spokesperson Hasan Ercakica on 29 July 2008:

As the Turkish Cypriot side, we welcome the outcome of the meeting held on 25 July 2008 between President Mehmet Ali Talat and the Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias. It is exciting that the full fledged negotiations aimed at finding an early and comprehensive settlement for the Cyprus problem will start on 3 September 2008

For almost four years, the Turkish Cypriot side has been spending efforts to reach the said result; President Mr. Talat has been acting with great flexibility and he has been faced with various criticisms. It should not be forgotten that we have been through the 8 July process and the 21 March agreement. During this process, our purpose has always been the commencement of the full fledged negotiations which we have always deemed as the sole method of finding an early, just and comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem.

We would like to remind that even the UN Secretary-General, who has assumed the duty of assisting the settlement of the Cyprus problem, has gone through hesitations and he has not deemed the environment ready for the appointment of a special adviser who will assist him in fulfilling this duty. This atmosphere of uncertainty has been overcome mostly by the efforts of the Turkish side and Mr. Alexander Downer has been appointed and taken office as the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus.

Even though we are pleased with the fact that we have reached this point, we are also aware of another fact that the process lying ahead of us will be a difficult one. In the period ahead, there is a challenging negotiation process that awaits us.

Since the settlement reached for the Cyprus problem will be submitted to separate and simultaneous referenda, the aim is to reach a comprehensive settlement plan which will be mutually accepted by both peoples. The Turkish Cypriot side is determined to reach that point and fulfill its share of what has to be done so as to finally reach a solution with the consent of the two peoples.

Meanwhile, it has to be stated that the statements made by the Greek Cypriot leader Mr. Demetris Christofias and his spokesmen that the solution that is to be found will be the continuation of the Republic of Cyprus which has now become a Greek Cypriot Republic are not contributing to the process at all.

It is very well known that by the end of the comprehensive negotiations, a new partnership state will be established. It naturally will contain elements both from the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The prior achievements and decisions of the Republic of Cyprus are important for the Greek Cypriot people whereas the prior achievements and decisions of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are important for the Turkish Cypriot people. Some of these achievements and decisions are even vital for both peoples. All these achievements shall be preserved within the new state.

The decisions concerning which of these elements will be included in the new state will naturally be determined during the negotiation process. Instead of being biased, it is better to be pragmatic about this issue.

The Turkish Cypriot people will in no way lose the experience and achievements of all those years. As President Mr. Talat stated in the speech he delivered during 20 July celebrations, our objective is to integrate into the world, while preserving the achievements of the Turkish Cypriot people, and to establish new relations with the Greek Cypriot side to that end.

Meanwhile, speaking at his weekly press briefing, the Presidential spokesperson Hasan Ercakisa said that in his message, President Talat strongly condemned Sunday’s attacks in Turkey, in which more than 100 people were  injured and 17 people killed.

CHANGE IN VISA PROCEDURE OF TURKISH CYPRIOTS  FOR FRANCE

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS “INITIATIVES CONTINUING AT DIFFERENT LEVELS”

TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs  in a written statement issued yesterday stated that  an initiative  was made by  the Foreign  Ministry and the Presidency  over the French authorities against its decision to  make a change in the  visa procedure of Turkish Cypriots for France.

The statement said  a  detailed explanation was asked from the French authorities with regard to the new procedure and the French authorities have confirmed that they have made a change in their visa procedure  and added that it  was not their final decision.