January 24, 1984

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Chairman:)

In accordance with Public Law 95 - 384, I am submitting herewith a bimonthly report on progress toward a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Since the previous report (November 7, 1983) the Turkish Cypriot community declared its statehood. The declaration of November 15, 1983 was condemned by the Administration as unhelpful to the process of finding solutions. We urged reversal of the Turkish community's moves and called on all states of the world not to recognize the self-proclaimed entity. On November 18, 1983 we joined a nearly unanimous U.N. Security Council in passing resolution 541 which also called for reversal of the declaration and for no international recognition of the self-proclaimed entity.

Following the November 18, 1983 Security Council action, Cypriot President Kyprianou came to Washington where Secretary Shultz and I met with him to assure him of our opposition to the Turkish Cypriot move and of our continuing determination to see the Cyprus question settled fairly and finally. We also met with (then) Turkish Foreign Minister Turkmen to whom we explained these same points. With both the Cypriot and Turkish government officials we urged flexibility in reacting to any opportunities for progress which may present themselves. The Secretary of State made a similar presentation to Greek Foreign Minister Haralambopoulos.

In early December, 1983 State Department Counselor Edward Derwinski visited Greece and Cyprus to meet with Government leaders and private individuals for discussions of the situation on Cyprus. Several additional visits to Cyprus by members of the Congress took place during the period.

On December 15, 1983 the U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate for the U.N. Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for another six months. (Secretary General's report of December 1 is attached.) The Turkish Cypriot community did not support the terms of this renewal but its leaders have said they will continue to cooperate with U.N. forces in their peacekeeping role.

On January 2, 1984, the Government of Turkey announced its intention to remove 1500 of its troops from Cyprus. On the same day Mr. Denktash, leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, announced a series of ``goodwill'' measures designed to settle some of the outstanding issues between the communities. Included among these were proposals to turn over the city of Varosha and the Nicosia airport to U.N. administration, reactivation of the Committee on Missing Persons, and several other confidence-building measures. The Administration welcomed these proposals as being movement in the right direction.

On January 9, 1984, President Kyprianou again visited Washington during a private visit to the U.S. and discussed with Secretary Shultz and others his Government's ideas on how to achieve progress toward a comprehensive settlement.

The Secretary of State's Special Cyprus Coordinator Richard Haass and other Department officials have maintained close liaison with U.N. officials involved with the Cyprus question. We continue to support the Secretary General's good offices role.

During the period, the Administration has encouraged the parties to the Cyprus question to be forthcoming with new ideas for progress and not to reject out of hand any proposals for progress. We believe the January 2, 1984 proposals from the Turkish side and the plans discussed with President Kyprianou in November and in January constitute positive results. We intend to continue our strong support for the U.N. Secretary General's role in the search for solutions to the Cyprus problem.

Sincerely,

Ronald Reagan

Note: This is the text of identical letters addressed to Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Charles H. Percy, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

 

Date
01/24/1984