House President reserved regarding shift in US stance

Cyprus House of Representatives President Demetris Christofias appeared reserved on Sunday regarding a possible turn in the US stance on the Cyprus problem, in the light of recent remarks by Undersecretary of State at the US State Department Nicholas Burns and US Ambassador in Nicosia Ronald Schlicher.

Asked if he saw any shift in the US stance, Christofias said he hoped there would be a change, which would be welcome.

”Life itself verifies declarations in practice,” he pointed out, noting that ”the people of Cyprus, due to the experiences it has, is always rather skeptical when it sees and hears remarks of this king, especially prior to elections.”

Christofias expressed hope that there would be a change in US policy towards being more objective, so that the people of Cyprus could, at the end of the day, reach a settlement, which would meet its own interests and not those of third parties.

Asked if he would be meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, Christofias said neither of them had any problem to meet but had not pursued such a meeting for ethical reasons and in view of a meeting scheduled for September 5 between Talat and President of the Republic Tassos Papadopoulos.