US Undersecretary of State to visit Cyprus

Undersecretary of State at the US State Department, Nicholas Burns, has pledged to use his influence both at the UN and with its European partners for a renewed effort to achieve a just resolution to the Cyprus problem.

Recalling that he is due to visit Cyprus next month or October, Burns underlined his country’s support to a bizonal, bicommunal federation, noting that the US supports only one government on Cyprus, that of the Republic of Cyprus.

“Cyprus is a friend of the US and we very much value that relationship,” Burns told a meeting of Cypriots living abroad, members of the International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA), the World Federation of Overseas Cypriots (POMAK) and the World Federation of Young Overseas Cypriots (NEPOMAK), meeting in Nicosia.

“I hope very much that this fall, in September or October, we will establish a date for coming to Cyprus to pay an official visit. We haven’t had a high level visit from the US in quite some time. I think that will change. I look forward very, very much to making my first visit to Cyprus”, Burns remarked.

He said the message he will bring “is one of commitment by the US to improve our relationship with our friend the Republic of Cyprus”.

Burns acknowledged “it is no secret that we had our share of disagreements over the past few years, particularly over the Annan plan of the UN, but I think what we have to do is to put these disagreements behind us”.

He said “we know we have a friend, in the government of Nicosia, the Republic of Cyprus and we have to honour that friendship. That would be the basis of my trip. To say that we will improve this relationship, we will elevate it to a new level and we will put our energy behind the effort to support a settlement in Cyprus”.

The State Department high-ranking official said that Americans know that Cypriots are friends of the US because of the presence of the Cypriot community in the country “which has been such a strong and vibrant community throughout the US” and this friendship was even more notable last year during the war in Lebanon when “15 thousand Americans citizens were evacuated from the war zone and managed to get to Cyprus by ship and all of them were greeted by the Cypriot people. They were put up, they were fed, they were clothed, they were received very warmly and managed to get on their way back to the US”.

Burns said that both Cyprus and the US have been working together in a very practical manner, for peace and stability in the world.

Addressing delegates, Burns said “I know a lot of you are concerned, as you should be, of the lack of peace on Cyprus, the lack of justice”, the fact that the island has been occupied by force and the fact that the island has been divided for so long. “I know many of you have lost your homes, many of your have had families divided. This is a great tragedy and we Americans cannot and should not forget about this tragedy”, he said.

Burns noted that Nicosia has been divided longer than Berlin was divided. “So it seems to me and seems to my government that we need to make a renewed effort now to try to renew the international negotiations, led by the UN negotiations, to seek a just resolution of the Cyprus problem. We cannot forget the need for justice, the need to revolve the process that has been going on for too long and we need to put the determination and strength of the US as well as our partners in Europe, behind a fresh and new initiative by the Secretary General of the UN for peace in Cyprus”.

He also stressed that the policy on Cyprus “has been very clear. The US supports one government on Cyprus and we recognize only one government on Cyprus and that is the government of the Republic of Cyprus. We work with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community as part of our effort to promote a settlement but that does not in any shape or form, signify diplomatic recognition. We only recognize the Republic of Cyprus. That is the government with which we had diplomatic relations that is the government that represents the will of the majority of people on Cyprus itself”.

On the solution, he added “it has been our longstanding policy to support a bizonal bicommunal federation in Cyprus. Cyprus must be, in our view, one country. We hope that progress can be made”, adding that the US was “encouraged a year ago, 2006 when President Papadopoulos and Mr. Talat agreed” to the 8 July Agreement”, noting it was a “positive step forward”.

Burns said the US will “support this process. We will use the influence of the US to encourage the UN to reengage”.

Concluding, the US diplomat said the leading issue of his talks with the government of Cyprus is that the US ”will be supportive in a renewed effort for peace and justice”.