CYPRUS
Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from
the High Commissioner of Cyprus, 29 March 2005
With full appreciation to the interest on Cyprus,
expressed by the Foreign Affairs Committee through its recent
report published on the 22 of February 2005, I wish to convey
the position of my Government, vis a vis the various conclusions
and recommendations raised in the said Report, which is outlined
in the enclosed Memorandum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While my Government welcomes many of the Committee's
conclusions and recommendations, contained in the Report, it nevertheless
wishes to apprise the Committee of areas in which we have divergent
views, to highlight areas of major concerns to the Government
of Cyprus and to indicate the Cyprus Governments' policy approach
on the various issues. Such are: the disappointing conclusion
that there is little evidence that Cyprus has taken fully on board
its EU obligations, the worrying recommendation for pushing the
idea for establishing "direct" travel and trade with
the occupied airports further, in contrast with provisions of
International law and International Conventions and in total disregard
of the Republic of Cyprus's sovereignty, the dubious call for
Turkish financial gestures on the property issue, the erroneous
conclusion that the illegal settlers rightfully participated in
the referendum.
It would be greatly appreciated if the enclosure
was duly circulated to all the members of the Committee,
HE Petros Eftychiou
High Commissioner of Cyprus
29 March 2005
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