13 February 2004
U.S. Welcomes Agreement in UN Cyprus Talks
Pledges support for just and durable settlement
The United States welcomes the announcement that Turkish and Greek Cypriots have agreed to resume negotiations based on the peace plan proposed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and to submit the resulting settlement to a vote of their respective communities in time for a reunited island to join the European Union on May 1.
State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said February 13 that the United States would continue to provide all appropriate support to achieve a just and durable settlement.
Following is the statement:
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
February 13, 2004
Statement by Richard Boucher, Spokesman
U.S. WELCOMES AGREEMENT IN UN CYPRUS TALKS
The United States warmly welcomes the announcement by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan today that the parties on Cyprus have committed to resume negotiations on the basis of his peace plan and to submit the resulting settlement to referenda in time for a reunited island to join the European Union on May 1.
This step came about thanks to the constructive spirit and political will of all the parties. An extremely helpful proposal to create a deadlock-breaking mechanism was made by the Turkish Cypriot side on February 11 and received a cooperative response from the Greek Cypriot side. This allowed the Secretary General to propose a compromise that was accepted by all the parties.
We are pleased that the parties are seizing this historic opportunity to achieve a just and durable settlement to the long-standing division of Cyprus. This will allow all Cypriots to enjoy the benefits of EU membership as of May 1. The United States will continue to provide all appropriate support to reach a successful conclusion.
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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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