UN SECRETARY GENERALS' RESPONSES TO  CORRESPONDENTS 

 

12 December 2002

Q. The talks collapsed in Copenhagen , your first reaction.

SG.
I wouldn't call it a collapse. By collapse you mean we don't have an agreement yet. I think we will assess where we are and then see we how move forward. But, I wouldn't say the talks collapsed. We didn’t have an agreement, but we will continue.

Q. Are you disappointed sir? I think the United Nations and all the international community invested a lot in this effort, the most serious one for some time.


SG. Absolutely. We were very close and I was very hopeful that we could get an agreement. And I recall telling the Turkish leader Mr Erdogan, for a known soccer player like himself that the game is not over until the final whistle. And we will get there.

Q. What is the next step? I know that this may be a question you have no answer to yet.  


SG. I think we need to take stock, reassess and analyze what happened and decide how to move forward.

Q. Could you say who is responsible for the failure?


SG. I think it is too early for me to get into that yet.

Q. There are elections in Cyprus soon. We asked you a few months ago and you answered it was too early to make an assessment. Now they are a couple of months away.

SG. Yes in February.

Q.
What is going to happen now?


SG. Well, I hope the work that has been done will not be wasted and that the people of
Cyprus , both Turkish and Greeks, will see an advantage in pursuing this effort and bringing it to a fruitful conclusion.

Q. Will you ask the Security Council to endorse your plan, Sir?
 

SG. As I said, I am going to analyze the situation and determine what further steps I should take. At this stage I haven't determined whether to go to the Council to seek endorsement.

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