[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 111 (Wednesday, July 16, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CYPRUS SETTLEMENT TALKS

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 16, 2014

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to be here today and to 
have the opportunity to speak about something very important both to me 
and to many of the constituents I serve in New York's Fifth District: 
the Cyprus settlement talks. I'm here to tell you that I am following 
the negotiations carefully--that I am ready to lend my support in any 
way I can. And I am here to tell you that America wants these talks to 
be successful--that America is engaged. Mr. Biden's visit in May was 
the first by an American Vice-President in over 50 years, and that says 
a lot. Finding a fair and mutually acceptable resolution to the 
situation in Cyprus is a priority at the very highest levels of our 
government--and we will not rest until we succeed.
  I am also here to tell you that I'm hopeful. I have not forgotten the 
false-starts of the past, nor am I naive about the difficulties which 
lie ahead, but I am hopeful that Cyprus has turned a corner--that 
things are different this time. I'm optimistic that there's a real 
chance for progress. Not long after Mr. Biden departed Cyprus, in fact, 
Greek Cypriot President Mr. Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot 
counterpart, Mr. Eroglu, agreed to meet at least twice a month to 
discuss how they could build trust between the two sides. I commend 
both leaders for taking this step, and I express my utmost support for 
continuing an open and honest dialogue.
  I am also hopeful because at no other time during the 40 years Cyprus 
has been divided was reaching a settlement so critical. For millennia 
Cyprus has been at the crossroads of civilization. It has been a hub of 
commerce and a strategic waypoint for all who transited the 
Mediterranean. And it remains so today, but with even greater strategic 
implications. Located at the nexus of Europe, the Middle East, and 
North Africa, Cyprus is a vital source of stability and security in one 
of the world's most volatile regions. And with a robust free-market, 
services-based economy and newly discovered natural gas reserves, 
Cyprus stands to benefit greatly from increasing ties with the 
international community, especially the Transatlantic Trade & 
Investment Partnership--a free trade agreement I strongly support.
  But Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike are being denied the bright 
future they deserve. It is time to come to the negotiating table ready 
to make compromises, ready to make progress. It is time to reunify 
Cyprus based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, as called for by 
multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. It is time to 
turn a page in Cyprus' history and find out what great surprises the 
next chapter holds in store.
  I stand by my friends and colleagues in Cyprus and the Cypriot 
diaspora--ready to read that next chapter. And America stands by too--
determined to deepen the partnership between our two great countries, 
eager to see just how much we can accomplish when we work together.

                          ____________________