THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 19, 1993
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
TO THE SPEAKER OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIAVES AND
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE
SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
August 19, 1993
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Chairman:)
In accordance with Public Law 95-384 (22 U.S.C. 2373 (c)), I am
submitting to you this report on progress toward a negotiated
settlement of the Cyprus question. The previous report covered
the period from November 13, 1992, through February 14, 1993,
the date of the election of Glafcos Clerides to succeed George
Vassiliou as President of the Republic of Cyprus. The current
report covers the remainder of February through July 15, 1993.
On February 22, Secretary of State Warren Christopher, while
enroute between Beirut, Lebanon, and Cairo, Egypt, met with
President-elect Clerides and then-President Vassiliou at the
airport in Larnaca, Cyprus. During this short meeting, the
Secretary of State assured them of the continued high level of
U.S. interest in U.N. Secretary General Boutros-Ghali's efforts
to find a fair and permanent solution to the Cyprus problem.
President Clerides was sworn in on February 28.
On March 2, the U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator, Ambassador John
Maresca, met in Rome with his counterpart from the Government of
Turkey, Mr. Tugay Ulucevic. Ambassador Maresca also met with
the U.N. Secretary General's Deputy Special Representative,
Mr. Gustave Feissel in Rome. At both meetings, Ambassador
Maresca stressed the necessity of an early resumption of the
Cyprus negotiations.
Also on March 2, in Nicosia, Mr. Oscar Camilion, the Secretary
General's Special Representative, informed the parties that he
was resigning the position to return to the service of the
Argentine Government as Minister of Defense. Mr. Camilion left
Cyprus in mid-March after participating in another round of
preparatory talks on the island. During Minister Camilion's
tenure as the Secretary General's Special Representative,
substantial progress was made toward resolution of the Cyprus
dispute, and I would like to take this opportunity to add my
appreciation for his long and distinguished service.
U.N. Under-Secretary General Marrack Goulding and Mr. Feissel
arrived in Nicosia for a round of preparatory talks on March 7
and, during the course of the talks, obtained commitments from
President Clerides and Mr. Denktash to come to New York for a
short face-to-face meeting on March 30. On March 10, the
two Cypriot leaders met for dinner at the invitation of
Mr. Camilion, the first face-to-face meeting on the island
of the leaders of the two communities in several years.
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At the end of the preparatory meetings in Cyprus, Goulding and
Feissel returned to New York where they met on March 15 with
Ambassador Maresca to discuss their plans for the March 30
meeting.
On March 25, on the occasion of the National Day of the Hellenic
Republic of Greece, I publicly restated the strong U.S. interest
in the U.N. Secretary General's efforts to reach a fair and
permanent solution of the Cyprus problem.
In preparation for the face-to-face meeting between the two
Cypriot leaders scheduled for March 30, the members of the
U.N. Security Council authorized the President of the Security
Council to issue a statement that called on the parties to
cooperate fully with the U.N. Secretary General and reaffirmed
the determination of the Security Council members to remain
seized of the Cyprus question and to lend their support to the
Secretary General's efforts. (The full text of the Security
Council President's statement is enclosed.)
On March 29, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, Ambassador Madeleine Albright, met with President
Clerides and Mr. Denktash to reiterate the U.S. position that
both sides should work with the U.N. Secretary General to reach
an equitable and lasting solution for the benefit of all
Cypriots. She presented letters to the two leaders from
Secretary of State Christopher and me.
At the March 30 face-to-face meeting, the leaders of the
two communities agreed to return to New York for substantive
discussions on May 24. The Under-Secretary General's summation
of the meeting stated that the sides had agreed to resume their
discussions "using the set of ideas for the purpose of reaching
freely a mutually acceptable overall framework agreement" after
a preparatory process on the island (full text enclosed). The
summation also welcomed the parallel process of private meetings
(that is, not under U.N. auspices) between the two leaders.
There was another such meeting between the two leaders in
New York on the margins of the U.N. talks.
Also on March 30, U.N. Secretary General Boutros-Ghali issued
a report on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus in which
he requested a major restructuring and reorganization of the
U.N. Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) due to reductions,
withdrawals, and announcements of plans for further withdrawals
of troops by troop contributors. (The full text of that
report is enclosed.) Informal consultations among members of
the Security Council on this subject continued throughout the
remainder of this reporting period, ultimately resulting in
changes in the way UNFICYP is financed. Information on the U.N.
Security Council resolutions through which this was done will be
found later in this report.
On March 31, the five Permanent Members of the U.N. Security
Council held separate meetings with the leaders of the two
communities to urge them to cooperate with the representatives
of the Secretary General and to prepare for the substantive
talks, which were to resume on May 24.
In mid-April, Mr. Feissel, who had been named as the new
resident representative of the Secretary General on Cyprus,
began the preparatory talks in Nicosia working on both the
U.N. "set of ideas" and on confidence-building measures
developed by the U.N. Secretariat, in accordance with the
suggestions of the Secretary General at the end of the October-
November session of the New York talks.
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On April 24, I again publicly stated the strong U.S. commitment
to a fair and permanent solution of the Cyprus problem. On the
same day, President Turgut Ozal of Turkey, who had strongly
supported the efforts of the Secretary General to find such a
solution, died after a strenuous effort to resolve serious
disputes in south-west Asia.
Mr. Feissel concluded the first phase of his preparatory work in
Nicosia on May 6, and, on the same day, the State Department's
Director of Southern European Affairs, Mr. David Ransom, arrived
in Nicosia. He was joined there on May 10 by Special Cyprus
Coordinator Maresca, and both met with the leaders of the two
communities to urge them to cooperate with the U.N. effort.
Ambassador Maresca departed Cyprus on May 12 and Director Ransom
departed on May 13 after meeting with Mr. Feissel, who had
returned to Nicosia for additional intensive preparation for the
May 24 meetings in New York.
A U.N. Security Council resolution sponsored by the United
Kingdom on the structure and financing of the U.N. Peace-keeping
Force in Cyprus was vetoed by Russia on May 11 because it
appeared to eliminate voluntary contributions as a preferred way
of financing U.N. peace-keeping operations. (Another resolution
was successfully negotiated during the two weeks that followed,
and it was passed on May 27, after the end of this reporting
period.)
Mr. Feissel's intensive preparations for the May 24 New York
negotiating round focused on a package of confidence-building
measures, which included a plan to reopen the fenced area of the
city of Varosha and the Nicosia International Airport under U.N.
auspices.
In my view, the package of confidence-building measures is fair
and balanced, offers significant benefits to both sides, and
should be accepted by both sides as a means of improving the
atmosphere for negotiation of a fair and permanent resolution of
the Cyprus problem. More specifically, I urge Mr. Denktash, the
leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community, to accept this package
in order to establish a better climate for negotiations based on
the U.N. "set of ideas." I believe that the Government of
Turkey also should exercise its special responsibility to urge
him to accept this package. This is an historic opportunity for
the Turkish-Cypriot community and for all Cypriots. It would be
tragic if this opportunity to move forward were missed.
Following these developments, the U.N. Secretary General's
resident representative in Cyprus was engaged in intensive
talks in Nicosia with the leaders of the two Cypriot com-
munities, which focused on a package of confidence-building
measures, including the reopening, under U.N. auspices, of both
the Nicosia International Airport and the city of Varosha, on
the eastern coast of Cyprus. These consultations ended, and
Mr. Feissel returned to U.N. Headquarters on May 20 to begin
final preparations for the May 24 New York negotiating session.
That session opened, as scheduled, with a meeting chaired by the
U.N. Secretary General and attended by the leaders of the two
Cypriot communities, Mr. Joseph Clark, the Secretary General's
newly appointed Special Representative; Cyprus Coordinator John
Maresca; and U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus Robert Lamb.
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During the next five days it became apparent that Mr. Denktash,
the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community, was not prepared to
accept the package of confidence-building measures. He asked
for additional time to consider the package and consult with his
community. The Secretary General initially granted Mr. Denktash
four additional days. At a meeting on June 1, chaired, in the
absence of the Secretary General by Mr. Clark, Mr. Denktash was
granted an additional postponement until June 14, with the
approval of the representatives of the permanent members of the
Security Council, also present, on condition that Mr. Denktash
would seek a positive response from his community on the
proposed package of confidence-building measures, including the
proposals for Varosha and the Nicosia International Airport.
On June 8, the State Department released a statement (copy
attached) that supported the U.N. Secretary General's package
of confidence-building measures, including his proposals for
Varosha and the Nicosia International Airport, stated that we
believe the package is fair and balanced and that it offers
real economic and practical benefits to both sides and that
the package should be accepted quickly and in its entirety,
and stated our belief that Turkey should be helpful in ensuring
an agreement on this package.
Also on June 8, in an airport statement on his arrival in
Turkey, Mr. Denktash made it clear that he was not seeking a
positive response from his community to the Secretary General's
package. On the same day, Secretary Christopher spoke with
Turkish Foreign Minister Cetin, who, like Secretary Christopher,
was in Athens for the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and
the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, about the developing
situation.
On June 9, a letter on the Cyprus situation and the U.N.
Secretary General's confidence-building package from Secretary
Christopher was delivered to Foreign Minister Cetin. In a
speech to the Turkish Grand National Parliament, in Ankara, on
the following day, and in follow-up statements to the media,
Mr. Denktash said that he could not accept the confidence-
building package and would not return to New York as scheduled
on June 14.
Secretary Christopher discussed the Cyprus situation with
President Demirel and Foreign Minister Cetin in meetings in
Ankara on June 12. In New York, a spokesman for the U.N.
Secretary General issued a statement (copy attached) the same
day that stated that the Secretary General had been informed
by Mr. Denktash that he would not be able to return to New York
as planned on June 14 and that a representative of Mr. Denktash
would come in his stead "to explain the situation that has
arisen." The statement said that the Secretary General
regretted that Mr. Denktash had unilaterally departed from
the agreement of June 1, and that, as a consequence, the joint
meetings would not resume at U.N. Headquarters as planned on
June 14. The Secretary General undertook to submit a report to
the Security Council.
On June 14, Mr. Kenan Atakol, representing Mr. Denktash, arrived
in New York and started a series of meetings with Mr. Feissel
and members of the diplomatic missions to the U.N. of the five
Permanent Members of the Security Council. Mr. Atakol was not
prepared to discuss "practical problems" concerning the
Secretary General's confidence-building package, to which
Mr. Denktash had referred in Nicosia and Ankara. On June 25,
before returning to Cyprus, Mr. Atakol met with Ambassador
Edward Walker, the U.S. Deputy Representative to the U.N.
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On July 1, the Secretary General issued the report (copy
attached) that he had promised on June 12. In the report he
reviewed his efforts since November 1992, explained in detail
the confidence-building package that he had proposed, including
his proposals for Varosha and the Nicosia International Airport,
and provided observations on the current state of the
negotiations. The gist of those paragraphs is that: (paragraph
45) all concerned have a special responsibility to bring to a
positive conclusion an effort that has already produced
"significant progress"; (paragraph 46) the Secretary General was
particularly gratified that the preparations in Nicosia for the
May 24 New York negotiating session had brought his confidence-
building proposals to an advanced stage; (paragraph 47) the
Varosha/Nicosia International Airport proposals would bring
considerable and proportionate benefits to both Cypriot
communities; (paragraph 48) beyond the economic gains to both
sides, the package would open avenues of contact between the
communities and engender the kind of goodwill that should exist
in a federation; (paragraph 49) the Secretary General is
disappointed that, despite his assurances of June 1,
Mr. Denktash neither promoted the acceptance of the package
during his consultations in Nicosia and Ankara, nor did he honor
his agreement to return to New York on June 14; (paragraph 50)
the Secretary General hopes that the merits of the package will
commend themselves to all concerned once they have been fully
presented; and (paragraph 51) the Secretary General intends to
continue his efforts and, to that end, has asked his Special
Representative (Mr. Clark) to visit Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey
in the following few weeks. The Secretary General also
attached, as an annex to his report, a list of the confidence-
building measures that his representatives had proposed to the
two sides (including the Varosha/Nicosia International Airport
proposals, which were detailed in the body of the report).
The Security Council, on July 7, approved a letter (text
attached) from its President to Secretary General Boutros-Ghali
that endorsed the conclusions of the Secretary General's report
and underlined the obligation of both parties to cooperate fully
with the Secretary General in promptly reaching an overall
framework agreement and, in the first instance, in reaching an
agreement on the Secretary General's confidence-building
package.
The letter welcomed the Secretary General's decision to send
Mr. Clark to Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, and requested a report
from the Secretary General in September 1993, and, if necessary,
his recommendations for action by the Security Council.
Mr. Clark and Mr. Feissel arrived in Nicosia on July 13 on the
mission outlined in the Secretary General's report. On the same
day, the U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator, Ambassador Maresca,
arrived in Ankara for discussions with the Government of Turkey
on the Cyprus question.
On June 11, the Security Council extended the mandate of the
U.N. Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for an additional
six-month period until December 15, 1993. As noted in the last
report, the Council had reached agreement on the future mission
and funding of UNFICYP on May 27, during the New York nego-
tiating session outlined above. The U.N. Secretariat continues
to seek forces to replace the Canadian contingent that began
its previously planned withdrawal in the week following June 15.
(The Secretary General's report of June 9 on U.N. operations is
attached.)
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As I noted in the conclusions of my last letter to you on this
subject, I believe that the Secretary General's package of
confidence-building measures is fair and balanced. I believe
that its acceptance by both sides, promptly and in its entirety,
would certainly improve the atmosphere and could speed the
acceptance of an overall framework agreement based on the
Secretary General's "set of ideas." I want to reiterate the
strong support of the U.S. for the efforts of the Secretary
General to carry out his good-offices mandate and to reach a
conclusion acceptable to both Cypriot communities and which is
for their mutual benefit. It is time for all concerned to build
on the substantial progress noted by the U.N. Secretary General
in his July 1 report and to resolve this long-standing problem.
Sincerely,
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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