Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
dated 15 March 2004
In light of current developments in the UN Cyprus
process, and the Government's desire to build on the well-informed
support for that process which already exists in Westminster,
I am writing to keep the Foreign Affairs Committee up to date.
This follows the note we provided on 15 January about prospects
for a settlement after the election s in north Cyprus.
Intensive negotiations between the parties resumed
in Cyprus less than a month ago, after a procedural breakthrough
in New York in mid-February. Much work remains to be done, and
difficult compromises will be required. However, to the great
credit of the leaders in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, and the UN
Secretary General and his dedicated team (who are drawing in technical
assistance from the European Commission and many other quarters),
a comprehensive settlement in time for a reunited island to accede
on 1 May is still achievable. Both sides have committed themselves
to put the outcome of this process to simultaneous referendums
on 20 April. The people of Cyprus will thus, at last, have the
opportunity to decide the future of their island. I strongly hope
that will be as citizens of United Cyprus Republic within the
EU, enjoying also the very high degree of autonomy within their
own constituent states envisaged un the Annan Plan.
The UN Secretary General has asked the UK, along
with the other Guarantor Powers (Greece and Turkey), to confirm
to him and to each other in writing, by 9 April, that we agree
to the separate simultaneous referendums provided for in the plan,
and that we are committed to signing, together with the United
Cyprus Republic, the Treaty annexed to the Foundation Agreement.
There are, in fact, three treaties at issue
for the UK in this process. The first—referred to above—is
the treaty bringing into effect the new state of affairs in Cyprus.
The next is the Treaty of Guarantee, which will be amended to
take account of the provisions of a settlement (in particular,
to make clear that the Treaty of Guarantee extends to the constituent
states). As in 1960, when the Treaty of Guarantee was originally
conceived, it will come into force on signature by the parties
concerned. No other formalities are required in order to bring
into effect the Treaty annexed to the Foundation Agreement. And,
as you know, the `Ponsonby Rule' does not apply to treaties which
come into force on signature. Nonetheless, I intend to inform
both Houses about the detailed arrangements and prospects for
those ceremonies as soon as the current negotiations have determined
them. At the very least, I will place the full text of the settlement
in. the Libraries of both Houses as soon as it is available.
The third treaty at issue is the Treaty of Establishment.
As you will know from the written statement I made last year (copy
enclosed), the Government decided to make available about half
the territory of our Sovereign Base Areas, to help the UN Secretary
General achieve the necessary balance in his proposals to the
parties. Our territorial offer remains part of the Annan Plan
and I continue to hope that it will help clinch a settlement.
The offer— being largely farmland—has no implications
for the operational effectiveness of the Sovereign Base Areas.
The transfer of sovereignty would require amendment and ratification
of the Treaty of Establishment (1960 Cyprus Act). Once it is clear
that our offer has been accepted as part of an agreed settlement,
the Government will bring forward the necessary legislation in
the normal way. (The Annan Plan makes clear that these territorial
changes would take effect only when the United Kingdom has completed
that internal process.)
I intend to keep Parliament informed about the
situation in Cyprus, and how this affects UK interests on the
island. My officials would also be glad to provide briefings if
you would find this useful. But I am sure that benefits of the
settlement we are working for are obvious to all.
Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
15 March 2004
Annex 1
WRITTEN STATEMENT TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
ON THE UK'S OFFER OF SBA LAND
CYPRUS
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs (Mr Jack Straw):
The Government's aim remains a comprehensive
settlement in time for a reunited Cyprus to accede to the European
Union on 16 April. For this to happen, the UN has set 28 February
as the deadline for a decision on the Secretary-General's proposals.
On Sunday 23 February Kofi Annan put forward ideas to the two
sides on how he might revise his 10 December proposals, and is
consulting the governments in Ankara and Athens before his historic
visit to Nicosia tomorrow. President-elect, Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos,
has made clear that the change of government underway in Cyprus
will not impede the UN timetable. The UK has supported the UN
throughout this process, and has welcomed the balanced and comprehensive
settlement proposals tabled by the Secretary-General. We urge
both sides now to secure a settlement.
During the intensive negotiations which followed
the Copenhagen European Council, it became clear that the issue
of territorial readjustment was a key one, needing to be resolved
if there was to be a settlement. In particular, it became clear
that both sides attached great importance to adjustments which
represented a relatively small percentage of the area of Cyprus.
The Government therefore gave urgent consideration to whether
it could in some way help to bridge the remaining gap. A decision
was reached to inform the UN Secretary-General that Britain would
be prepared to cede part of the UK's Sovereign Base Areas and
this offer has now been included in the UN Secretary-General's
ideas of 23 February.
The offer consists of 45 square miles just under
half of the total area of the SBAs. This makes up 1.2 per cent.
of the area of the new state of affairs in Cyprus. The areas involved
would bring a number of Cypriots living near Limassol, and in
the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, within the administration of
their respective constituent state. It will also open up areas
of coastline for possible development. The areas involved do not
contain military infrastructure, and this offer will not have
any adverse impact on the functioning of the SBAs. The offer would
only become valid if there were agreement by both sides to the
UN's proposals. And, of course, legislation would be introduced
to bring the transfer of territory into operation. In the event
that either side in Cyprus rejects the proposals, or the proposals
are rejected in a referendum by either side, the offer, along
with the rest of the UN proposals, will become null and void.
We urge both sides not to let this historic
opportunity to heal the division of Cyprus slip away; and to go
the last mile to conclude negotiations and secure the settlement.
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