    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [January 30, 1991]
    [Pages 82-84]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Cyprus Conflict
    January 30, 1991

    Dear Mr. Speaker:   (Dear Mr. Chairman:)
        In accordance with Public Law 95-384 (92 Stat. 739; 22 U.S.C.
    2373(c)), I am submitting to you this bimonthly report on progress
    toward a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question. This report
    covers the period from mid-October through December 1990.
        During this period the United Nations Secretary General, whose good
    offices mission forms the core of international efforts to resolve the
    Cyprus problem, sought to begin implementation of the ``plan of action''
    that he had outlined in his report to the U.N. Security Council of July
    12. This plan (described in my report to you of August 30) was designed
    to prepare the ground for restarting the intercommunal talks.
        In mid-October the Secretary General asked his Special
    Representative on Cyprus, Ambassador Oscar Camilion, and Mr. Gustave
    Feissel of his New York staff, to test the degree of support for the
    U.N. plan of action in Athens and Ankara, as well as with the two
    communities in Cyprus. In Athens and Ankara Ambassador Camilion and Mr.
    Feissel received firm offers of cooperation.
        In Nicosia the picture was mixed. Both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish
    Cypriot communities pledged their cooperation with the Secretary General
    and reiterated their support for UNSC Resolution 649. Each side also
    made clear its belief that the other side was intransigent and that
    progress in carrying out the ``plan of action'' was therefore unlikely.
        To lend U.S. support to the Secretary General's efforts, I asked my
    Special Cyprus Coordinator, Ambassador Nelson Ledsky, to travel to the
    area in late October. Ambassador Ledsky met twice with the Turkish
    Foreign Minister, once with the Greek Foreign Minister, and several
    times each with President Vassiliou and Mr. Denktash. In the course of
    these meetings, Ambassador Ledsky also discussed a series of possible
    interim steps that might provide an impetus to the U.N.-sponsored
    negotiating process. He explained to each party why such a process could
    not begin with a unilateral gesture by some other party and outlined

    [[Page 83]]

    instead a series of balanced, reciprocal steps that could help create an
    atmosphere conducive to serious intercommunal negotiation. Although all
    concerned expressed interest in the development of such a package of
    steps, no agreement was reached on what the specific steps might be.
    Ambassador Ledsky's efforts will continue into 1991, in close
    cooperation with the U.N. Secretariat.
        I am pleased to report that on October 28 my nominee for the post of
    Ambassador to Cyprus, Robert E. Lamb, was confirmed by the United States
    Senate. Ambassador Lamb presented his credentials to President Vassiliou
    on November 30. He has met with President Vassiliou and Mr. Denktash to
    discuss the Cyprus problem and will be active in all its aspects,
    including the U.S. effort to support the good offices mission of the
    U.N. Secretary General.
        On November 7 the Secretary General sent to the Security Council a
    report on his mission of good offices in Cyprus (attached), which
    covered the period since his last report of July 12. In his November
    report the Secretary General observed that:

                ``the negative atmosphere to which I had referred in my last
                report has persisted. Each side has objected to actions and
                statements by the other. These actions and statements have
                been a detraction to my effort.''

        The Secretary General also reported that the consultations
    undertaken by Ambassador Camilion and Mr. Feissel in the implementation
    of his ``plan of action'' had not been completed. He proposed to submit
    a progress report to the Security Council within 3 months, together with
    his assessment of the situation at that time. He reminded the parties of
    their commitment to UNSC Resolution 649, in which the Security Council
    called for their cooperation ``on an equal footing . . . in completing .
    . . on an urgent basis an outline of an overall agreement. . . .''
        On November 9 the Security Council--with the United States as
    President of the Council--adopted a statement supporting the efforts of
    the Secretary General. The statement also reaffirmed the Council's
    ``endorsement of his plan of action to complete an outline of an overall
    agreement, including the critical substantive issues of territory,
    refugees, constitutional arrangements and security guarantees.''
        On December 7 the United Nations issued the ``Report of the
    Secretary General on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus''
    (attached). In his report the Secretary General pointed out that the
    U.N. peacekeeping force ``is facing a chronic and everdeepening
    financial crisis.'' The report also noted a number of incidents during
    1990 that indicate that tensions on the island remain high and the
    presence of the U.N. peacekeeping force is critical to any prospects of
    a lasting settlement.
        On December 14 the Security Council approved for an additional 6
    months the renewal of the mandate of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in
    Cyprus. On December 21 the Security Council passed unanimously a
    resolution requiring the Council to examine the problem of costs and
    financing of the peacekeeping force with a view to implementing an
    alternative means of financing--which could include, inter alia, the use
    of assessed contributions--on or before June 15, 1991. We will be
    consulting with appropriate Members of Congress on this issue in the
    near future.
        This is my final report to the Congress on Cyprus for 1990. As I
    look back over the events of 1990, I am disappointed in the lack of
    progress in the negotiating process and in the persistence of what the
    Secretary General has on several occasions called the negative
    atmosphere prevailing on the island. At the same time, I am gratified at
    the extraordinary efforts of the United Nations Secretary General and
    his staff in attempting to find a path toward reconciliation on Cyprus.
    As 1991 commences, I call upon the leaders of the two Cypriot
    communities to act in accord with UNSC Resolution 649 and to complete as
    soon as possible, hopefully by mid-
    February, the long-overdue outline for
    a settlement. I can assure the Congress
    that the United States will do all it can
    to act as a catalyst in this process and
    to help the people of Cyprus find the
    means in 1991 to end the division of their
    island by creating for themselves a

    [[Page 84]]

    peaceful and enduring bizonal, bicommunal federation.
        Sincerely,

                                                                 George Bush

                        Note: Identical letters were sent to Thomas S.
                            Foley, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
                            and Claiborne Pell, chairman of the Senate
                            Foreign Relations Committee.