Nicosia reaffirms its position on comprehensive Cyprus settlement

Nicosia said on Thursday that it saw no change in UN policy regarding the Cyprus issue, in an apparent bid to brush off the impact of Turkish Cypriots' new initiative, Cyprus News Agency reported.

The official UN policy on Cyprus was a UN-brokered agreement that the country's two communities of Greek and Turkish Cypriots reached in July, Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas was quoted as saying.

He made the remarks while responding to U.S. state department spokesman Sean McCormack's statement on Wednesday that "the UN has taken another look at the Cyprus issue and they may consider what it is that they might do."

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed on July 8, 2006, with the presence of UN Undersecretary General for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions.

According to the agreement, the discussions would focus on issues that affect the daily life of the people and those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.

"This is the official UN policy, we are committed to that agreement and we will continue working with good will and with a cooperative spirit," Lillikas stressed.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of Cyprus following a coup by a group of Greek officers.

Earlier this week, the Turkish Cypriots in the north removed a controversial footbridge near central Nicosia's buffer zone as a goodwill gesture toward their rival Greek Cypriots.

Following the move, Washington has expressed that new hope has risen after concerned parties show recently "an interest in maybe trying again to find a solution (to the Cyprus problem)."

Meanwhile, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns also said that the U.S. sees 2007 as a "year of hope" for Cyprus.

Source: Xinhua