The US State Department is cautiously optimistic that the two sides in the new round of negotiations with the new UN Secretary General`s Special Adviser on Cyprus, are showing very serious purpose in the way that they are engaging and are beginning to see the start of real negotiations.
A Senior State Department official who wished to remain anonymous, speaking to reporters after John Kerry`s meeting with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York said the US Secretary of State has made it clear how strongly the US supports the work in Cyprus.
Referring to yesterday`s meeting, the Senior State Department official said the focus was very much on the renewed peace talk efforts and the appointment of a new UN special envoy to support those talks, Norwegian diplomat and former foreign and defense minister, Espen Barth Eide.
“The Secretary made clear how strongly the United States supports the work that is going on between the sides and with the facilitation of Espen Barth Eide, the Secretary made clear that he intends to be personally engaged and to help push the process forward as he can. He made clear that the subject of Cyprus and getting – and injecting new energy into the talks also came up on his recent trip to Ankara, and that we will remain very much engaged, including this week when there’ll be a number of other meetings both with the parties and with Espen Barth Eide”.
He also said that in the meeting with President Anastasiades, the subject of Ukraine came up and that “Cyprus has been stalwart within the EU in continuing to support the costs that we’ve had to impose on Russia, and particularly the sanctions. They are paying a price economically”.
The Senior State Department official said Secretary Kerry thanked Cyprus for its solidarity in that regard, and they “talked about the absolute vital importance now of implementing – seeing the 12-point Minsk peace plan of September 5th fully implemented, and the work we can all do as members of the OSCE to support the role that they have in monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire”.
To a question if Kerry is planning to visit Cyprus, the Senior State Department official said “I think if there is a moment in the talks where he can help push things forward, I think he’s prepared to do that. We haven’t made a concrete plan yet. As you know, Ambassador Eide has had a couple of trips to the island. “I think he’s now going to accelerate his effort to keep talks going between the sides through October, and then we will see whether a moment comes when he and the sides think a visit by the Secretary might be helpful”.
Asked if the negotiations in Cyprus are moving forward as quickly and resolutely as before given the recent statements of Turkish officials on the two states in question, the State Department official said “ I think we are cautiously optimistic that these first couple of rounds since the new UN negotiator was appointed are beginning to show promise, that the sides are showing very serious purpose in the way that they are engaging, that we are now beginning to see the start of real negotiations. It was certainly very clear in the meeting that the Secretary had that the Greek Cypriot side is committed and also quite committed to working with the new negotiator”.
He also said the Secretary made clear that in his visit to Ankara, he felt that the Turkish side is – that in Turkey, in Ankara – and you know they are a key supporting player for this – that they also want to see this issue resolved. We’ll have a chance to see the Turkish Cypriots later down the week and engage. But as a general matter, we are cautiously optimistic that we have new life in this process, and we want to be supportive of that”.
Asked if the sanctions that were passed last week are now being reviewed by Europeans and if he raised the issue with the Cypriot President, the official said the issue of Ukraine did come up. “We are working intensively with the EU on the whole subject of Ukraine, and particularly now with all of our OSCE partners, to try to ensure that the OSCE is fully staffed and ready to take on the role that the Minsk agreement gives it in terms of monitoring the ceasefire, monitoring the withdrawal of foreign fighters and equipment, the securing of the borders. So there’s a lot of work to be done there. And as an EU player, as an OSCE player, Cyprus has a role to play in that as well”.