CYPRUS, ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS TIES, REGIONAL ISSUES

Cyprus News Agency
20 May 04

Nicosia, 20 May: The Cyprus problem, Cyprus’ accession to the EU, the
Cyprus-Armenia relations, the problems in the Caucasus region and the
issue of Nagornyy Karabakh were on the agenda of discussions here today
between Cyprus Foreign Minister Yeoryios Iakovou and his Armenia’s
counterpart Vardan Oskanyan, who is paying a working visit to Cyprus.

In his statements after the meeting Oskanyan stressed the importance
of Cyprus’ accession to the EU for Armenia noting that “we see Cyprus
as a friendly country, as an insider in the EU and that we can rely
on its help to further advance our integration processes with European
structures and particularly with the EU”.

He also said that the reason of his visit to the island is “first of
all to advance and deepen our bilateral ties at all levels”.

Iakovou said “Armenia is a friendly country with very old ties with
Cyprus” and that their modern ties develop continuously at all levels
and mostly at the political level.

He referred to the presence of many Armenians in Cyprus that
participate to the economic, social and political life of the country
and noted they discussed various issues.

Iakovou said he briefed Oskanyan on the latest developments in the
Cyprus problem, Cyprus’ accession to the EU and the prospects created
by it while Oskanyan briefed him on the problems at Caucasus region
and Nagornyy Karabakh.

Oskanyan said during the past 12 years of Armenia’s independence
“we consistently upgraded our bilateral ties.”

“Our relations are at a very good level at this moment. We’ve been
closely working together in international organizations and we will
continue to do so in the future,” he said.

He added that he was extremely satisfied with his talks with Iakovou
and that their discussion was very useful.

“We’ve addressed our bilateral relations, we’ve assessed where we stand
today and we’ve talked as to how we can move forward,” Oskanyan said.

He also described “extremely helpful” the analysis and the explanation
of the Cypriot minister about the Annan unification plan and the
reasons behind the ‘No’ that the Greek Cypriot people expressed on the
24 April referendum, adding that “now I understand better the reasons.”

“Also the minister analysed and explained what are the expectations
for the future since truly the intention here is to see a unified
Cyprus as a member of the EU,” he added.

He said that on his part he briefed the Cypriot minister about the
talks on the Nagornyy Karabakh issue “where we stand and what are the
prospects for the peaceful resolution of this conflict in our region.”

“We’ve also talked about other regional matters, particularly Armenia’s
relations with its neighbours, Turkey in particular,” he noted, adding
“as a goal before us we have the normalization of ties between Armenia
and Turkey.”

He also said he very much hoped that the Cypriot minister will have
the opportunity to visit Armenia in the near future.

Asked if during his meetings here he discussed the issue of the
Melkonian Educational Institute, after the Armenian General Benevolent
Union’s (AGBU) which governs the institute decided to shut down,
Oskanyan said he discussed it both with Cypriot Minister of Interior
Andreas Christou and Nicosia Mayor Michael Zambelas.

“This is an issue that concerns the Government of Armenia and I simply
heard the views of the Cypriot government officials as to what they
think about the future of the school and I should also say that I met
with the community members yesterday and I focused on the Melkonian’s
closure,” he added.

“We in Armenia like to see a solution to this issue that will meet
the needs of everyone”, the Armenian Foreign Minister said and added
that Armenia was ready to offer its good offices, if it could be of
any help, to reach a positive conclusion to this issue.