The following article appeared in the Athens News on 06 October 2000, written by George Gilson.

"Papandreou tells Annan: Cyprus solution only within UN bounds
Lyssarides seeks clarification of statement referring to 'equal status'

BY GEORGE GILSON Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou meets with Cyprus' socialist KISOS party leader Vassos Lyssarides in Athens yesterday.

AMIDST meetings with visiting Cypriot opposition leaders who have expressed fears that UN-sponsored Cyprus talks are leading toward a confederation of two states, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou announced yesterday that he has asked United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan to issue a statement indicating that the negotiations are being conducted within the framework of UN resolutions.

"I had an opportunity to speak with Mr Annan yesterday and discuss the Cyprus problem. My basic comment was that, for us, the Cyprus problem can be solved only within the framework of UN resolutions. I asked him to reconfirm this at the first opportunity," Papandreou told the Athens News at a press conference after a meeting with Cyprus' socialist KISOS party leader Vassos Lyssarides in Athens yesterday.

The meeting came on the heels of a European Parliament report, approved yesterday by an overwhelming majority, which stated that Cyprus will be in the first wave of EU applicant countries to accede and that such admission to the Union does not presuppose a solution of the island's political problem. The report also slammed Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash's refusal to engage in the EU accession talks.

After Papandreou congratulated him on his contribution in fashioning the decision of the EU parliament, whose socialist group invited him to Strasbourg, Lyssarides took pains to emphasise the solid front of Athens and Nicosia. "Because there are many murmurs, I can say that the clear categorical position of the [Greek] foreign ministry is that 'Yes, we need friendship with all peoples, especially neighbours, but the touchstone of every friendship with the parties involved is the Cyprus issue'," he said.

Both Papandreou and Lyssarides underlined that Greece and Cyprus will be vigilant in making sure that negotiations toward a settlement remain within the parameters of relevant UN resolutions. "From hereon in, everyone will be judged by their practical positions," said Lyssarides. "It is correct to seek clarifications [of Annan's September statement that a settlement will recognise the "equal status" of the "parties"]. He is the secretary general of the UN and not an independent personality. He is bound by the organisation from which he derives and which he leads. It should be made clear to all parties concerned that all negotiations will be conducted within the framework of UN resolutions. There are resolutions with which our side is not entirely in accord... Confederal solutions with separate states cannot be discussed."
Lyssarides expressed his delight over the European Parliament's report on Cyprus and asserted that it should influence the policy of member-states' governments. "The report was the best we have ever had and the resolution adopted constitutes a substantial contribution to the Cyprus affair," he said.

Earlier yesterday, Papandreou also briefed Greece's Left Coalition leader Nikos Constandopoulos on recent Cyprus developments and other foreign policy issues. Constandopoulos reiterated his call for a council of foreign policy and underlined his interest in a Cyprus solution that would establish a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation based on UN resolutions.

On Tuesday, Papandreou met with Cyprus' conservative DISY party leader Nikos Anastasiades, who expressed "the deep gratitude of the Cypriot people" for Athens' aid in Cyprus' EU accession course. Noting that no UN resolution on Cyprus has been enforced in 26 years, Anastasiades urged vigilance in resisting attempts by either the UN or foreign mediators to slide from the framework of international legality. "