    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [August 19, 1993]
    [Pages 1393-1397]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Cyprus Conflict
    August 19, 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 report on progress toward a negotiated settlement
    of the Cyprus question. The previous report covered the period from
    November 13, 1992, through February 14, 1993, the date of the election
    of Glafcos Clerides to succeed George Vassiliou as President of the
    Republic of Cyprus. The current report covers the remainder of February
    through July 15, 1993.
        On February 22, Secretary of State Warren Christopher, while enroute
    between Beirut, Lebanon, and Cairo, Egypt, met with President-elect
    Clerides and then-President Vassiliou at the airport in Larnaca, Cyprus.
    During this short meeting, the Secretary of State assured them of the
    continued high level of U.S. interest in U.N. Secretary General Boutros-
    Ghali's efforts to find a fair and permanent solution to the Cyprus
    problem.
        President Clerides was sworn in on February 28.
        On March 2, the U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator, Ambassador John
    Maresca, met in Rome with his counterpart from the Government of Turkey,
    Mr. Tugay Ulucevic. Ambassador Maresca also met with the U.N. Secretary
    General's Deputy Special Representative, Mr. Gustave Feissel in Rome. At
    both meetings, Ambassador Maresca stressed the necessity of an early
    resumption of the Cyprus negotiations.
        Also on March 2, in Nicosia, Mr. Oscar Camilion, the Secretary
    General's Special Representative, informed the parties that he was
    resigning the position to return to the service of the Argentine
    Government as Minister of Defense. Mr. Camilion left Cyprus in mid-March
    after participating in another round of preparatory talks on the island.
    During Minister Camilion's tenure as the Secretary General's Special
    Representative, substantial progress was made toward resolution of the
    Cyprus dispute, and I would like to take this opportunity to add my
    appreciation for his long and distinguished service.

    [[Page 1394]]

        U.N. Under-Secretary General Marrack Goulding and Mr. Feissel
    arrived in Nicosia for a round of preparatory talks on March 7 and,
    during the course of the talks, obtained commitments from President
    Clerides and Mr. Denktash to come to New York for a short face-to-face
    meeting on March 30. On March 10, the two Cypriot leaders met for dinner
    at the invitation of Mr. Camilion, the first face-to-face meeting on the
    island of the leaders of the two communities in several years.
        At the end of the preparatory meetings in Cyprus, Goulding and
    Feissel returned to New York where they met on March 15 with Ambassador
    Maresca to discuss their plans for the March 30 meeting.
        On March 25, on the occasion of the National Day of the Hellenic
    Republic of Greece, I publicly restated the strong U.S. interest in the
    U.N. Secretary General's efforts to reach a fair and permanent solution
    of the Cyprus problem.
        In preparation for the face-to-face meeting between the two Cypriot
    leaders scheduled for March 30, the members of the U.N. Security Council
    authorized the President of the Security Council to issue a statement
    that called on the parties to cooperate fully with the U.N. Secretary
    General and reaffirmed the determination of the Security Council members
    to remain seized of the Cyprus question and to lend their support to the
    Secretary General's efforts. (The full text of the Security Council
    President's statement is enclosed.)
        On March 29, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United
    Nations, Ambassador Madeleine Albright, met with President Clerides and
    Mr. Denktash to reiterate the U.S. position that both sides should work
    with the U.N. Secretary General to reach an equitable and lasting
    solution for the benefit of all Cypriots. She presented letters to the
    two leaders from Secretary of State Christopher and me.
        At the March 30 face-to-face meeting, the leaders of the two
    communities agreed to return to New York for substantive discussions on
    May 24. The Under-Secretary General's summation of the meeting stated
    that the sides had agreed to resume their discussions ``using the set of
    ideas for the purpose of reaching freely a mutually acceptable overall
    framework agreement'' after a preparatory process on the island (full
    text enclosed). The summation also welcomed the parallel process of
    private meetings (that is, not under U.N. auspices) between the two
    leaders. There was another such meeting between the two leaders in New
    York on the margins of the U.N. talks.
        Also on March 30, U.N. Secretary General Boutros-Ghali issued a
    report on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus in which he requested a
    major restructuring and reorganization of the U.N. Peace-keeping Force
    in Cyprus (UNFICYP) due to reductions, withdrawals, and announcements of
    plans for further withdrawals of troops by troop contributors. (The full
    text of that report is enclosed.) Informal consultations among members
    of the Security Council on this subject continued throughout the
    remainder of this reporting period, ultimately resulting in changes in
    the way UNFICYP is financed. Information on the U.N. Security Council
    resolutions through which this was done will be found later in this
    report.
        On March 31, the five Permanent Members of the U.N. Security Council
    held separate meetings with the leaders of the two communities to urge
    them to cooperate with the representatives of the Secretary General and
    to prepare for the substantive talks, which were to resume on May 24.
        In mid-April, Mr. Feissel, who had been named as the new resident
    representative of the Secretary General on Cyprus, began the preparatory
    talks in Nicosia working on both the U.N. ``set of ideas'' and on
    confidence-building measures developed by the U.N. Secretariat, in
    accordance with the suggestions of the Secretary General at the end of
    the October-November session of the New York talks.
        On April 24, I again publicly stated the strong U.S. commitment to a
    fair and permanent solution of the Cyprus problem. On the same day,
    President Turgut Ozal of Turkey, who had strongly supported the efforts
    of the Secretary General to find such a solution, died after a strenuous
    effort to resolve serious disputes in south-west Asia.
        Mr. Feissel concluded the first phase of his preparatory work in
    Nicosia on May 6, and, on the same day, the State Department's Director
    of Southern European Affairs, Mr. David Ransom, arrived in Nicosia. He
    was joined there on May 10 by Special Cyprus Coordinator Maresca, and
    both met with the leaders of the two communities to urge them to
    cooperate with the U.N. effort. Ambassador Maresca departed Cyprus on
    May 12 and Director Ransom departed on May 13 after meeting with Mr.

    [[Page 1395]]

    Feissel, who had returned to Nicosia for additional intensive
    preparation for the May 24 meetings in New York.
        A U.N. Security Council resolution sponsored by the United Kingdom
    on the structure and financing of the U.N. Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus
    was vetoed by Russia on May 11 because it appeared to eliminate
    voluntary contributions as a preferred way of financing U.N. peace-
    keeping operations. (Another resolution was successfully negotiated
    during the two weeks that followed, and it was passed on May 27, after
    the end of this reporting period.)
        Mr. Feissel's intensive preparations for the May 24 New York
    negotiating round focused on a package of confidence-building measures,
    which included a plan to reopen the fenced area of the city of Varosha
    and the Nicosia International Airport under U.N. auspices.
        In my view, the package of confidence-building measures is fair and
    balanced, offers significant benefits to both sides, and should be
    accepted by both sides as a means of improving the atmosphere for
    negotiation of a fair and permanent resolution of the Cyprus problem.
    More specifically, I urge Mr. Denktash, the leader of the Turkish-
    Cypriot community, to accept this package in order to establish a better
    climate for negotiations based on the U.N. ``set of ideas.'' I believe
    that the Government of Turkey also should exercise its special
    responsibility to urge him to accept this package. This is an historic
    opportunity for the Turkish-Cypriot community and for all Cypriots. It
    would be tragic if this opportunity to move forward were missed.
        Following these developments, the U.N. Secretary General's resident
    representative in Cyprus was engaged in intensive talks in Nicosia with
    the leaders of the two Cypriot communities, which focused on a package
    of confidence-building measures, including the reopening, under U.N.
    auspices, of both the Nicosia International Airport and the city of
    Varosha, on the eastern coast of Cyprus. These consultations ended, and
    Mr. Feissel returned to U.N. Headquarters on May 20 to begin final
    preparations for the May 24 New York negotiating session.
        That session opened, as scheduled, with a meeting chaired by the
    U.N. Secretary General and attended by the leaders of the two Cypriot
    communities, Mr. Joseph Clark, the Secretary General's newly appointed
    Special Representative; Cyprus Coordinator John Maresca; and U.S.
    Ambassador to Cyprus Robert Lamb.
        During the next five days it became apparent that Mr. Denktash, the
    leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community, was not prepared to accept the
    package of confidence-building measures. He asked for additional time to
    consider the package and consult with his community. The Secretary
    General initially granted Mr. Denktash four additional days. At a
    meeting on June 1, chaired, in the absence of the Secretary General by
    Mr. Clark, Mr. Denktash was granted an additional postponement until
    June 14, with the approval of the representatives of the permanent
    members of the Security Council, also present, on condition that Mr.
    Denktash would seek a positive response from his community on the
    proposed package of confidence-building measures, including the
    proposals for Varosha and the Nicosia International Airport.
        On June 8, the State Department released a statement (copy attached)
    that supported the U.N. Secretary General's package of confidence-
    building measures, including his proposals for Varosha and the Nicosia
    International Airport, stated that we believe the package is fair and
    balanced and that it offers real economic and practical benefits to both
    sides and that the package should be accepted quickly and in its
    entirety, and stated our belief that Turkey should be helpful in
    ensuring an agreement on this package.
        Also on June 8, in an airport statement on his arrival in Turkey,
    Mr. Denktash made it clear that he was not seeking a positive response
    from his community to the Secretary General's package. On the same day,
    Secretary Christopher spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Cetin, who,
    like Secretary Christopher, was in Athens for the meetings of the North
    Atlantic Council and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, about the
    developing situation.
        On June 9, a letter on the Cyprus situation and the U.N. Secretary
    General's confidence-building package from Secretary Christopher was
    delivered to Foreign Minister Cetin. In a speech to the Turkish Grand
    National Parliament, in Ankara, on the following day, and in follow-up
    statements to the media, Mr. Denktash said that he could not accept the
    confidence-building package and would not return to New York as
    scheduled on June 14.
        Secretary Christopher discussed the Cyprus situation with President
    Demirel and Foreign

    [[Page 1396]]

    Minister Cetin in meetings in Ankara on June 12. In New York, a
    spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General issued a statement (copy
    attached) the same day that stated that the Secretary General had been
    informed by Mr. Denktash that he would not be able to return to New York
    as planned on June 14 and that a representative of Mr. Denktash would
    come in his stead ``to explain the situation that has arisen.'' The
    statement said that the Secretary General regretted that Mr. Denktash
    had unilaterally departed from the agreement of June 1, and that, as a
    consequence, the joint meetings would not resume at U.N. Headquarters as
    planned on June 14. The Secretary General undertook to submit a report
    to the Security Council.
        On June 14, Mr. Kenan Atakol, representing Mr. Denktash, arrived in
    New York and started a series of meetings with Mr. Feissel and members
    of the diplomatic missions to the U.N. of the five Permanent Members of
    the Security Council. Mr. Atakol was not prepared to discuss ``practical
    problems'' concerning the Secretary General's confidence-building
    package, to which Mr. Denktash had referred in Nicosia and Ankara. On
    June 25, before returning to Cyprus, Mr. Atakol met with Ambassador
    Edward Walker, the U.S. Deputy Representative to the U.N.
        On July 1, the Secretary General issued the report (copy attached)
    that he had promised on June 12. In the report he reviewed his efforts
    since November 1992, explained in detail the confidence-building package
    that he had proposed, including his proposals for Varosha and the
    Nicosia International Airport, and provided observations on the current
    state of the negotiations. The gist of those paragraphs is that:
    (paragraph 45) all concerned have a special responsibility to bring to a
    positive conclusion an effort that has already produced ``significant
    progress''; (paragraph 46) the Secretary General was particularly
    gratified that the preparations in Nicosia for the May 24 New York
    negotiating session had brought his confidence-building proposals to an
    advanced stage; (paragraph 47) the Varosha/Nicosia International Airport
    proposals would bring considerable and proportionate benefits to both
    Cypriot communities; (paragraph 48) beyond the economic gains to both
    sides, the package would open avenues of contact between the communities
    and engender the kind of goodwill that should exist in a federation;
    (paragraph 49) the Secretary General is disappointed that, despite his
    assurances of June 1, Mr. Denktash neither promoted the acceptance of
    the package during his consultations in Nicosia and Ankara, nor did he
    honor his agreement to return to New York on June 14; (paragraph 50) the
    Secretary General hopes that the merits of the package will commend
    themselves to all concerned once they have been fully presented; and
    (paragraph 51) the Secretary General intends to continue his efforts
    and, to that end, has asked his Special Representative (Mr. Clark) to
    visit Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey in the following few weeks. The
    Secretary General also attached, as an annex to his report, a list of
    the confidence-building measures that his representatives had proposed
    to the two sides (including the Varosha/Nicosia International Airport
    proposals, which were detailed in the body of the report).
        The Security Council, on July 7, approved a letter (text attached)
    from its President to Secretary General Boutros-Ghali that endorsed the
    conclusions of the Secretary General's report and underlined the
    obligation of both parties to cooperate fully with the Secretary General
    in promptly reaching an overall framework agreement and, in the first
    instance, in reaching an agreement on the Secretary General's
    confidence-building package.
        The letter welcomed the Secretary General's decision to send Mr.
    Clark to Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, and requested a report from the
    Secretary General in September 1993, and, if necessary, his
    recommendations for action by the Security Council.
        Mr. Clark and Mr. Feissel arrived in Nicosia on July 13 on the
    mission outlined in the Secretary General's report. On the same day, the
    U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator, Ambassador Maresca, arrived in Ankara
    for discussions with the Government of Turkey on the Cyprus question.
        On June 11, the Security Council extended the mandate of the U.N.
    Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for an additional six-month
    period until December 15, 1993. As noted in the last report, the Council
    had reached agreement on the future mission and funding of UNFICYP on
    May 27, during the New York negotiating session outlined above. The U.N.
    Secretariat continues to seek forces to replace the Canadian contingent
    that began its previously planned withdrawal in the week following June
    15. (The Secretary General's re-

    [[Page 1397]]

    port of June 9 on U.N. operations is attached.)
        As I noted in the conclusions of my last letter to you on this
    subject, I believe that the Secretary General's package of confidence-
    building measures is fair and balanced. I believe that its acceptance by
    both sides, promptly and in its entirety, would certainly improve the
    atmosphere and could speed the acceptance of an overall framework
    agreement based on the Secretary General's ``set of ideas.'' I want to
    reiterate the strong support of the U.S. for the efforts of the
    Secretary General to carry out his good-offices mandate and to reach a
    conclusion acceptable to both Cypriot communities and which is for their
    mutual benefit. It is time for all concerned to build on the substantial
    progress noted by the U.N. Secretary General in his July 1 report and to
    resolve this long-standing problem.
        Sincerely,

                                                          William J. 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.