    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [April 21, 1993]
    [Pages 476-477]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Cyprus Conflict
    April 21, 1993

    Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. Chairman:)
        In accordance with Public Law 95-384 (22 U.S.C. 2373(c)), I am
    submitting to you this bimonthly report on progress toward a negotiated
    settlement of the Cyprus question. The previous report, sent to you by
    President Bush, covered September, October, and part of November 1992.
    The current report covers the remainder of November 1992 through
    February 14, 1993.
        There were no further face-to-face negotiating sessions on the
    Cyprus issue from the time of the October 12, 1992, recess of the New
    York talks through February 14, 1993. During this period, which
    coincided with the campaign and Presidential election in the Republic of
    Cyprus, the U.N. Secretary General's negotiators and the U.S. Special
    Cyprus Coordinator, Ambassador John Maresca, and other U.S. officials
    remained in contact with the two Cypriot communities and the Governments
    of Greece and Turkey.
        The previous report on this subject included Secretary General
    Boutros-Ghali's report on the October-November U.N. negotiating session
    and U.N. Security Council Resolution 789, which unanimously endorsed the
    Secretary General's report, including the confidence-building measures
    suggested therein. On November 24, 1992, President Vassiliou notified
    the Secretary General by letter that the Greek-Cypriot side accepted the
    Secretary General's report, including the confidence-building measures.
    The Turkish-Cypriot side reacted negatively to both the Secretary
    General's report and to Security Council Resolution 789.
        On November 22, between the time of the issuance of the Secretary
    General's report and the passage of Security Council Resolution 789,
    U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator Maresca visited Ankara and Athens and
    discussed the report and the resolution that was then being drafted in
    New York. Ambassador Maresca had further discussions in Washington with
    representatives of the two Cypriot sides as well as with the Turkish
    Embassy. Ambassador Maresca informed all concerned that he would not
    visit Cyprus during the Cypriot election campaign.
        In early December, during a regular visit to

    [[Page 477]]

    the Eastern Mediterranean area, the Director of the State Department's
    European Bureau, Office of Southern European Affairs, discussed the
    Cyprus negotiations with the leaders of both Cypriot communities on the
    island and with officials of the Governments of Greece and Turkey.
        The election campaign in Cyprus continued into February 1993. On
    February 7, the first round of the election did not produce a majority
    for any candidate. One week later, on February 14, the last day covered
    by this report, the two candidates with the most votes in the first
    round--the incumbent, President George Vassiliou, and Mr. Glafcos
    Clerides--faced each other in a runoff election. Mr. Clerides won the
    runoff by about 2,000 votes.
        I would like to take the opportunity of my first letter on the
    Cyprus dispute to reiterate my strong commitment to press hard for a
    lasting solution to the tragedy of Cyprus. I intend to give that goal a
    high priority in my Administration. The U.N. ``set of ideas'' for a
    bizonal and bicommunal federation with a single national sovereignty and
    identity continues to offer the best chance for a peaceful resolution of
    this dispute. I urge both President Clerides, in his new capacity as the
    leader of the Greek-Cypriot community, and Mr. Denktash, the leader of
    the Turkish-Cypriot community, to continue their participation in the
    U.N.-sponsored negotiations and to be ready when the talks resume to
    make the political decisions necessary to resolve this long-standing
    dispute in a way that is acceptable and beneficial to all Cypriots.
        Sincerely,

                                                                Bill Clinton

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