Cyprus: Annan considering ways to help facilitate settlement

The Secretary-General is currently considering what steps to take in the pursuit of his good offices mission on Cyprus, following the "pulse-taking" visit to the region recently by the head of the UN's Department of Political Affairs, a UN spokesman said today.

"The Secretary-General has been fully briefed on the concerns and views of all parties, including the concerns of the Greek Cypriots – that led them to vote the way they did last year – as well as the concerns of the Turkish Cypriots about the situation in which they find themselves, despite the way they did vote last year," said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in response to a question at the daily press briefing.

Mr. Dujarric also said that any steps the Secretary-General takes in the pursuit of his good offices in a pursuit of his mission of good offices will be based on his assessment on how best to assist the parties to find, as only they can, a mutually acceptable settlement that can approved by the people on each side.

Earlier this month, UN Political Affairs chief Sir Kieran Prendergast said that after a fresh round of discussions with officials in Cyprus, he now had a "better understanding" of the positions, concerns and wishes of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot sides.

As part of his tour of the region, Mr. Prendergast met a number of times with both Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Tassos Papadopoulos. He also held discussions with other political leaders on the island.