US Ambassador urges poltical engagement

US Ambassador to Cyprus Ronald Schlicher has called for “political engagement” by parties involved in teh Cyprus problem as soon as possible, adding that every day that goes by is wasted.

Speaking after a meeting in Nicosia with opposition Democratic Rally (DISY) President Nicos Anastasiades, Schlicher said “It`s my very strong sense that everybody on both sides of the island really desire that that political engagement takes place as soon as possible so we can start a negotiating process that will actually address the many overwhelming political questions that still need to be addressed,” he noted.

Urging a quick start to the proposed technical committees, Schlicher said “we very much urge that work on those issues that the parties have decided to discuss at the technical level go forward.”

Schlicher added that the US urges “the parties, under the shepherding of (Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Michael) Mr. Moller, to actually talk through those issues in which they don’t agree yet and seek to find agreement.”

He asked them “to establish dialogue on the wide range of political issues that need to be engaged because the US thinks that every day that goes by without that political engagement is an opportunity wasted.”

Schlicher said that it has been “very useful” for him to visit the different party leaders to be able “to get their sense of what the people of Cyprus are thinking about the Cyprus issue and about the wide range of domestic issues that the country faces as well.”