The French Foreign Minister Mr Bernard Kouchner
reiterated his country's position that it was impossible for Turkey to accede to
the European Union without prior recognition of the Cyprus Republic. In
statements after a lengthy meeting yesterday in Paris with the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic Mr Markos Kyprianou, who is holding a working
visit to France, Mr Kouchner stressed that France, as an EU member state and a
permanent member of the UN Security Council, and being in constant contact and
collaboration with the Cyprus Republic, supported the new effort for resolving
the Cyprus problem and was ready to contribute, in the framework of its EU
Presidency for the second half of 2008, towards a successful outcome. At the
same time, Mr Kouchner welcomed the progress achieved thus far and expressed
hope that the new peace efforts would soon bear results. On his part, Mr
Kyprianou briefed his French counterpart on the recent attempts towards a Cyprus
settlement and the utterly positive attitude of the G/C side vis-a-vis the
commencement of the new process, which was made possible after a meeting in
March between the President of the Republic Mr Christofias and the T/C leader Mr
Talat in the framework of the 8 July 2006 Agreement.
