UN Sec Gen to meet Cyprus leader

By Apostolis Zoupaniotis

United Nations (CNA) – The Agreement of 8 July 2006 has yet to be implemented, stressed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his annual report on the work of the UN before the General Assembly which opened Tuesday.

In the third chapter of the report on peace and security, Ban wrote that “in Cyprus, despite numerous meetings held by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General with envoys of the Greek Cypriot leader and the Turkish Cypriot leader, the Agreement of 8 July 2006 has yet to be implemented”.

Ban will meet Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos at the UN headquarters on Sunday at 2140 Cyprus time. A close associate of the Secretary General told CNA that Ban has decided to wait and take action only if he has sufficient evidence that indicates progress can be achieved.

The same source said that despite public recommendations by US Undersecretary at the State Department Nicholas Burns for the Secretary General to appoint a personal envoy for Cyprus, these duties are still being exercised by UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Cyprus Michael Moller.

President Papadopoulos arrives in New York on Saturday, 22 September, and will remain there until 27 September.

On Monday, the President will address the High-level meeting on climate change, entitled ”The future in our hands: addressing the leadership’s challenge of climate change” and on Wednesday, 26 September, will address the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly. After that he will give a press conference. On Thursday, the Cypriot President will attend a working lunch with the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council.

The President will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Erato Kozako Marcoullis who will remain in New York City until 29 September.

President Papadopoulos met Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat at the residency of Moller on 5 September. The two agreed on the need for the earliest start of the process and discussed other issues leading to a comprehensive settlement.”

The meeting came 14 months after the two agreed on July 8 last year, in the presence of senior UN official Imbrahim Gambarri, to set up technical committees and working groups to discuss issues that affect the day to day life of the people and substantive issues of the question of Cyprus.