[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.