    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [November 14, 1999]
    [Page 2087]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Announcement of Cyprus Peace Talks
    November 14, 1999

        The Secretary-General of the United Nations
    has just informed me that President Clerides of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriot leader
    Denktash have accepted an invitation to start
    proximity talks in New York on December 3. The goal of the talks is to
    prepare the ground for meaningful negotiations leading to a
    comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.
        The talks will be held under U.N. auspices. They will go forward
    without precondition. They will focus on the substantive issues that
    divide the parties. The United States will work closely with the
    Secretary-General to ensure that the talks are
    productive.
        This summer the United States took the lead in calling on the United
    Nations to convene Cyprus talks. Ever since, together with our European
    allies and the U.N., we have been intensively engaged in an effort to
    bring the parties back to the negotiating table after a stalemate of
    more than 2 years. I am pleased that these efforts--including my meeting
    with Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit at the
    White House, Secretary Albright's
    conversation with President Clerides, and a
    month of shuttle diplomacy by my Special Envoy Al Moses--have helped to produce this result.
        These Cyprus talks can bring us one step closer to a lasting peace.
    A negotiated settlement is the best way to meet the fundamental
    interests of the parties, including real security for all Cypriots and
    an end to the island's division.
        The Cyprus problem has been with us for far too long. It will not be
    resolved overnight. But today we have new hope. I ask the parties to
    approach this opportunity with good faith and the determination to build
    for all the people of Cyprus a future that is brighter than the past.