The United States is urging the parties to the Cyprus dispute to make a commitment to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan and to putting that plan to a referendum -- the two conditions Annan has set for restarting talks -- U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus Michael Klosson told journalists January 8 during a briefing on the current status of the Cyprus negotiations.

"We would like to see the talks restarted as soon as possible, with all of the parties making the required commitment," Klosson said at the State Department's Foreign Press Center in Washington.

Making such a commitment, he said, "doesn't mean that, through mutual agreement, the parties couldn't change parts of the plan."

Klosson said the United States sees "a number of elements that ... improve the prospects for a settlement." Those elements include the UN's comprehensive plan, the crossings between the Greek Cypriot side and the Turkish Cypriot side, and the recent "political ferment that we've seen in the Turkish Cypriot community."

Analyzing the results of the December 14 election on the Turkish Cypriot side, Klosson said: "I think it's quite clear that an overwhelming majority wanted a solution. An overwhelming majority wants to be in Europe. And a majority supports the UN proposal as the way forward. So we see this as a very strong message to everyone that the Turkish Cypriots want to get a solution and, hopefully, can get this done before May 1 [when the Greek part of Cyprus is scheduled to join the European Union].

The Annan Plan is "the only way we can see forward," Klosson said.

The ambassador also reiterated U.S. willingness, in the event of a settlement, to participate in a donors conference and to "contribute financially." He said the United States has an interest in a solution to the Cyprus problem because it is "a flashpoint between two major NATO allies" [Greece and Turkey] and because "a Cyprus settlement would greatly facilitate Turkey's European aspirations."

Finally, he praised the "very helpful role" the European Union has played in preparing the way for a settlement.

The Washington Foreign Press Center
Washington, D.C.
2:15 P.M., Thursday, January 8, 2004

FOREIGN PRESS CENTER BRIEFING WITH AMBASSADOR MICHAEL KLOSSON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS

TOPIC: DISCUSSION OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE CYPRUS NEGOTIATIONS

MS. PAPAZIAN: Thank you all for coming. This is Ambassador Michael Klosson, our Ambassador to Cyprus. And as advertised, he's going to give us a briefing on the status of the Cyprus negotiations, and this will be on the record, although I don't know if you would like for any quotes to be checked with you or something like that -- and we could do that.

All of our participants here, except for one, I think, are Turkish. So the Greeks are late, I guess.

QUESTION: Greeks are boycotting.

(Laughter.)

MS. PAPAZIAN: But with that, welcome to the Foreign Press Center. Please go right ahead.

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Good, thanks. I'm glad to have this opportunity to have this conversation with all of you. I don't know whether -- were any of you, this morning, over at the Western Policy Center?

QUESTION: Yeah, I was.

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Okay, so you've heard some of what I have to say. It's billed as something on the Cyprus negotiations, and I will talk about that, but I just wanted to put out one point at the outset, which is, I'm speaking, again, from the perspective of a U.S. Ambassador working with an Embassy in Nicosia.

And we've spent a lot of time trying to help along its settlement of the Cyprus problem, but we do other things, as well. And I think it's important to understand from, it may be the (inaudible) some of you, but I think it's important to understand that as Cyprus moves into the European Union, the relationship between Cyprus and the United States actually gains some significance because Cyprus is not only joining the European Union, it's also joining the Transatlantic Partnership.

And what that means is that a whole range of issues that previously were not terribly prominent on the agenda for us in Nicosia are now coming on the agenda. And there's a whole gamut of things that we are now discussing with the government in, in Nicosia, and seeking their support and cooperation on. And it ranges from the war on counterterrorism; involves international efforts to deal with counter-proliferation; there's the President Proliferation Security Initiative. I mean, there's a whole range of these kinds of things that are now in play.

And this also, obviously, applies in the case of the settlement, which we very much hope to see, and the new Cyprus, the new state of affairs being part of the European Union, this same dialogue will continue. We have a broad agenda with the island. It's much broader than it was before. It includes counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, law enforcement cooperation, foreign policy cooperation and a lot of commercial work. And the Embassy as a whole spends quite a bit of time on these other issues as well.

But clearly, I think a lot of our work is quite focused and colored by international efforts to achieve a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem, and we do as much as we can on the island to help move that forward.

I have to say that having only been there a little over a year, it's been quite an eventful period. It's been a real rollercoaster ride, for example, on the settlement talks, themselves, and I was working with Tom Weston who's our special coordinator for this issue and does visit all the European capitals as well as Athens and Ankara and Nicosia trying to help move this forward. I was with him in Copenhagen. I was with him in The Hague, and we were all very disappointed when this UN effort stopped in The Hague. Normally, when that happens, there's sort of a chill that comes across the island. And in fact, that's not what we have been seeing over the last eight months or so because the restrictions that prevented people from traveling freely across the buffer zone were relaxed. And I think that has had a very positive impact on the island.

So we've seen this rollercoaster ride on the settlement talks. We've seen this relaxation by the Turkish Cypriot side of travel restrictions across the buffer zone. We've seen, sort of, the culmination of Cyprus's trying to get into the European Union, and I think there were very eventful elections in December, also.

So on the Cyprus question itself, there's a lot going on, and I would say, as we look forward, we see a number of elements that actually, I think, improve the prospects for a settlement. One is the fact that the UN has done a masterful job in putting together a comprehensive plan that helps to try to strike balanced outcomes on the very contentious issues. It's Kofi Annan's plan, and it remains on the table and is available to get across the finish line on a Cyprus settlement. And I think that's an important starting point.

The second important thing, as I mentioned, was these crossings that have been taking place between the Greek Cypriot side and the Turkish Cypriot side. And at last count, there were well over two million crossings. That doesn't necessarily mean two million people, but the people who count these things have recorded since April until now, well over two million crossings, and what that means is a lot more interaction between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and each side, you know, Greek Cypriots being able to see their former homes in the north; the Turkish Cypriots being able to see their former homes in the south.

And the whole idea of the settlement is no longer something left to people's imaginations and dreams. This has become much more real. And the sense that I have from being on the island only a year now, from people -- from talking with the people, is that they really can imagine, and really sort of have a feeling for the reality of what's out there. And the overall picture of the effect of these crossings is positive. You know, it's quite remarkable, given Cyprus's history, that this volume of interaction after such a long period of separation, given the very difficult period before that, that there hasn't been any inter-communal violence of any significance, whatsoever, in eight months and well over two million crossings.

So the way we add these things together is to say, on the one hand you have this Annan Plan -- and it provides a very visible -- it gives you a real sense of what the structure for a future Cyprus can be. And you can see how this can be established on the basis of recently confirmed good will. So these two elements, I think, sort of auger well for the future.

The third element that we see that's also positive in teeing up renewed settlement efforts, really, is the political ferment that we've seen in the Turkish Cypriot community. It started a year ago in the fall with demonstrations in the streets of Nicosia around, surrounding the Annan Plan and people's desires for a solution. And I think the vote that took place last month on December 14th, really was going from the streets to ballot box. And when you, when you analyze that vote, I think it's quite clear that an overwhelming majority wanted a solution. An overwhelming majority wants to be in Europe. And a majority supports the UN proposal as the way forward. So we see this as a very strong message to everyone that the Turkish Cypriots want to get a solution and, hopefully, can get this done before May 1st.

The actual votes were pretty close. The number of seats -- they're equally divided. It's just the way the district, the proportional representation system works there. But I think if you step back and you look at the trend line, you can see the point I was making more clearly, and that is, if you compare this election with the 1998 election, five years ago, you can see the trend line. And the trend line shows that the parties that were campaigning against the Annan Plan lost between a third and a half of their support.

The parties that were supporting the Annan Plan and the UN proposal as a basis for a solution increased their vote count by about 70 percent and almost doubled their seats in the assembly. And I think what's, perhaps, most striking of all is that one of the parts of Cyprus where people will have to be moved from their homes if there's a territorial adjustment. There's an area, a city called Morphou-Guzelyurt, this is an area that is currently under Turkish Cypriot administration. Under the Annan Plan it would return to Greek Cypriot administration, and up to 20,000 people may have to find new homes with the support of the international community.

The majority of that electoral district voted in favor of this solution. So this is, I think this really is clearly a vote for hope over fear. So where we are is to try to move -- to try to get the talks resumed. And the, the only way we can see forward is through the Secretary General Good Offices Missions. It doesn't seem that there's any other framework out there available for talks. And the way to get the Secretary General Good Offices Missions resumed is to do what he has said he needs -- to say what he needs to hear, to demonstrate there's serious political commitment on the parties' side. And he has asked that the parties commit, to finalize his plan and put it to a referendum by a date certain as the -- that's the expression that's required to get the talks restarted.

This is something that he put in a report to the Security Council last April. The Security Council, as well as, obviously, the United States, supports this way forward, and so our message to all of the parties is to help fulfill the requirements that the Secretary General has put out so we can get talks restarted.

We think that a settlement by May -- a settlement that would enable a united Cyprus to join the European Union as of May 1st -- is possible. But there's not a whole lot of time, and so it's up to the leaders to seize the moment, or it's going to pass.

And I think with that, just those general comments, let me open the floor to people's questions.

QUESTION: Sir, there was a high level meeting in Ankara today -- the highest level -- and after the meeting they decided that as soon as the government is formed in the north, negotiations should revive. Can you respond to that?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Secretary Powell talked a bit about, sort of, the way forward and I think we, we do look forward to working with the parties on the basis of the Annan Plan to try to get to a settlement in the coming months because we, as I said, we think it's feasible to get a settlement by -- to have referenda and then get a united Cyprus into the EU by May 1st, so we, we certainly welcome support for going forward under the basis -- within the framework of the Secretary General Good Offices Mission, but it's important that all of the parties fulfill the requirements of the Secretary General, which goes back to the point I was making earlier that the parties have to commit on what the Secretary General has asked. If the parties commit before going into the talks to put the negotiation to a referenda on a date certain afterwards, and I didn't see that commitment in the statement that I saw coming out of Ankara.

QUESTION: Deniz Enginsoy, Anatolia News Agency in Turkey.

As far as I understand, Turkey has a proposal based on Annan Plan with minor changes. And this morning you said you would prefer the Turkish and Greek sides are better focused on Annan Plan instead of bringing a new plan. Could you talk about this a little bit more? And do you basically reject the idea of bringing a new proposal?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I'm not rejecting anything. What I'm saying is, we haven't seen what the Turkish proposal is, and I think we had this conversation this morning. It's hard to comment on something that we haven't seen.

I think for the Secretary General Good Offices Mission to resume and for negotiations to begin in that framework, which we think is really the only realistic way forward, he had said that he wants to hear from the parties that they are prepared to finalize his plan.

Now, that doesn't mean that, through mutual agreement, the parties couldn't change parts of the plan, right? So what we're looking for are expressions of this commitment to finalize the plan and then put it to a referenda, a referendum, on a date certain.

I think the way forward -- and again, I don't know what is in the Turkish proposal because I haven't seen it, and I'm not sure they have described it publicly. You know, in the past, what the Turkish, various Turkish officials have said from the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister and others -- they have said that they understand that, about working, you know, on the basis of the Annan Plan. So you will have to see what shape this takes.

The key that unlocks this the way forward is to convince, to signal to the Secretary General that you're prepared to work on the basis of the Annan Plan, and then the changes that you, the changes that you think are important, you can try to accomplish in negotiations.

QUESTION: Umit Enginsoy with Turkey's NTV Television. So you mainly emphasize the need to bring the final outcome to a referendum, and you haven't seen that in the Turkish position yet?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I haven't, I haven't seen anything in the Turkish position yet.

QUESTION: But that's the key point. That's the key point.

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: They key point, right. The key point for -- I mean, the way forward is the Secretary General Good Offices Mission, and that's the framework within with negotiations will take place. In order to get the negotiations resumed, the parties have to commit to finalize the plan and put it to a referendum by a date certain. And I have not seen a statement by the Turkish side, nor the Greek Cypriot side, that this is what -- you know, "We're prepared to do this and put it to a referendum on April 1st."

QUESTION: Now it seems Mr. Talat, whom you know very well, and Mr. Serdar Denktash are very close to setting up a new government. Its announcement could come by the weekend. Do you have anything to say on that?

And, secondly, it seems there is a possibility of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan meeting with Mr. Annan in Davos at some point, before coming to Washington. Would you support such a meeting?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: On the question of Mr. Talat and Mr. Denktash sort of forming a government, we're watching it. I don't really know where things are.

QUESTION: Would you like to see their governments?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: We don't have an opinion, one way or the other, on that. That's not up to us. It's up to the Turkish Cypriots to sort out how they want to be represented in their assembly.

So I don't have a comment on that. It's something that we, we watch with interest because the Turkish Government has talked about bringing forward their proposal, if you will, or their view, once a government in the northern part of Cyprus has been formed.

So I mean it's, you know -- this process of sorting out the configuration of the government has been going on for a while now. So as I understand it, if I understand the system correctly, I think Mr. Talat has until Sunday night to -- I mean, he has a mandate that expires as of Sunday night, so that's the timeframe, and then it goes back to Mr. Denktash, father-Denktash, and they have to sort of start over again in some fashion.

QUESTION: And the second part's a possible meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister and --

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I mean, this is the Turkish Prime Minister's business, not the U.S.'s business.

QUESTION: Savos Suzal from Turkish Daily, Vatan.

It's a very general rumor around here in the D.C. -- they said that upcoming visit of Prime Minister Erdogan, that President Bush will be offering the four-party summit about the Cyprus. Do you have any preparation on this subject?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I don't know anything about that.

QUESTION: One thing, apparently, there is a major incentive for Turkey to work on Cyprus. Its EU membership date is close to, is closely related to that, and the Turkish Cypriots also have a new reason to seek a settlement because it will open their way to EU membership, as well. And I can't, I cannot see an incentive for the Greek Cypriots. Whether there is a solution or not, they will anyway become members of the EU, so why would they, would they have any reason to reconcile with the Turkish side if there are talks? Why should they reconcile? They have no reason to do that because one way or another, they'll become EU members anyway.

How would you help establish that incentive or encourage incentive?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Well, I think that one of the important things is for Turkish Cypriots to ask this question to Greeks Cypriots and get their answer. If you do that, I think you will find that there are answers. I mean, yes, it's true that May 1, settlement or not, Cyprus will join the European Union. With a settlement, it will probably be The United Cyprus Republic. Without a settlement, it's The Republic of Cyprus. But I think that's not the only thing that the Greeks Cypriots are interest in, if you engage them in conversation.

I mean, certainly, if you look at what the plan, a settlement would do to Greek Cypriots, there's a lot of Greek Cypriots that very much would like to reclaim their property. And the plan certainly tries to provide a permanent and, you know, fair resolution of the property issue. So that's one very concrete thing that, when you have quite a few families that, you know, used to live in the north and now live in south, left homes behind; and the same happened for Turkish Cypriots who used to live in the south and now the north and left homes behind, but the settlement provides a way to address this yearning that they've had for many decades. And that's very real. Beyond that, you know, more abstract kinds of things.

The, the word that most frequently follows the word "Cyprus," in my experience, is problem. Okay? And there's always this cloud hanging over Cyprus. And when I was in Hong Kong before Cyprus and I spent a lot of time in, both in Hong Kong and other places working with the American business community.

You know, business doesn't -- it's sort of uncertain, insecurity -- I mean, there's, you know, it's complicated.

What a solution would do for Greek Cypriots as well as for Turkish Cypriots is lift this uncertainty, lift this insecurity, remove the problem, and perhaps replace it with opportunity or a regional business platform, or a destination with all kinds of other things. So even on the Greek Cypriot side, there's tremendous economic advantage and benefit in a solution that you get, which simply joining the EU doesn't provide.

Beyond that, if there's no solution, and Cyprus joins the EU as it is, the Greek Cypriot side is going to start to encounter problems. And they've already begun talking about this.

The buffer zone, which right now is quite porous and it's not a, it's not an international border or anything. As, if it's The Republic of Cyprus in the EU and they want to sign up to the Schengen Arrangement, the character of that can start to change in a way that it starts to look much more like a formal, international border. That's not what they want to see.

And then finally, if it turns out that the lack of a settlement further demoralizes the Turkish Cypriot community, what, what one may see, increasingly, is Turkish Cypriots deciding to go south, since they're considered citizens of The Republic of Cyprus, and apply in the courts to get their property back or to get compensation. And this is going to create quite a difficult situation in the south.

So I think there are a lot of reasons, different than simply joining the EU, which motivate and provide incentives, and are, you know, good justifications providing Greek Cypriots, also, who want, and will benefit from a solution.

I mean, if you look at other provisions of the Annan Plan, I mean there's other -- if you look at what each side has been seeking in negotiations, whether it's getting troops off the island, all those type of things, I mean, a lot of that only takes place in the context of a settlement.

QUESTION: Also, there some talk in Ankara about the possibility of paying the Greek Cypriots whose homes were left in the north and just, rather than letting them return to their homes, but just altogether, if you consider the financial burden, it will probably be something that cannot be met by Turkish standards or their assets. If there is a mutual agreement toward that end, would the United States or an international pool help support that?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: That's not the proposal that's in the UN plan at the moment, as you know. I mean, the idea of restricting the honoring of people's property rights simply to compensation is not in the plan. And one of the reasons it's not in the plan is it's questionable whether that kind of way to resolve the property issue would stand up in courts in Europe.

I mean, the Secretary General has come up with, admittedly, a fairly complex formula, but it was designed on the one hand, to reinforce people's individual property rights, but then sort of guide their exercise in a certain fashion that they could be sustained, if they were challenged and this arrangement was challenged in the courts, it would be sustainable.

So, I mean, it's hard for me to say what the United States would be prepared to do if this part of the plan were changed. I really am not in a position to give you a straight answer to that question. What I can tell you though, is that the plan as it now stands does have costs. And some of the costs are envisaged as being borne by the two constituent states.

But there's certainly recognition of other costs, and would be -- helped defrayed by the international community. I mean, we certainly feel that people, for example, who would have to move and find new homes, if they're not in a position to, you know purchase new homes and so forth, that there ought to be a role for international support so that -- because all of us will benefit from a Cyprus settlement -- it shouldn't be simply on the shoulders of those, you know, some individuals who are going to be, in the short term, hurt by the settlement.

And we have said that we would certainly participate in a donors conference, which the EU, as you recall last February or so, the EU started to organize this thing and we said we would participate and contribute financially, and that remains our position.

But it's -- I can't really give you a straight answer because I think the way you've formulated a solution on the property side is not highly likely. I mean, it -- I don't think that's likely to be the way this is going to be, you know, played out.

QUESTION: Savos Suzal, Vatan. What is the interest of solution in the Cyprus for the United States foreign policy? Isn't that better for the United States for status quo, to using to playing together two places and two sides?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I don't think so.

QUESTION: Can you explain to why --

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: No, I mean -- if you look at what we say, we really do mean what we say.

You know, we really do have an interest -- I mean, and it's sort of formulated in a lot of different ways, in Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, alike, across the island, having a better life without all of these difficulties that they encounter. And we think that a settlement -- I mean, this is in our interest to have people on the island be better off.

You know, if you want to be really specific about it, there's quite a few people from the island entering the United States and as you've seen, I mean, people, various groups help shape our -- you know, have a view of our foreign policy.

But I mean, it's much farther than that. We have a commitment, I mean, what's happened in Cyprus over many decades, you know, '50s and the '60s and the '70s, I mean, this is all very tough stuff. And we would like to see a sustainable, peaceful, prosperous, you know, just outcome there, because that's the kind of country we are. This is what we believe in.

And when I say that that is our interest, I mean we really want to do that. But beyond that single interest, clearly, this is a sore spot, and at times, you know, a flashpoint between two major NATO allies. And we have a strong interest in NATO being a cohesive and coherent organization, particularly nowadays, when we're looking to give NATO yet, you know, further roles, whether it's in Afghanistan or possibly elsewhere.

So it's not helpful to have issues within the organization that will obstruct its ability to take on new responsibilities. So, you know, in a fairly concrete way, we would very much like to see the Cyprus issue resolved, also, because it then removes this as a potential problem for NATO as an organization, I mean as a second interest.

A third interest, as you well know, we have strongly championed anchoring Turkey and Europe. Turkey's in NATO; it's not in the EU. And the EU has made relatively clear that a Cyprus settlement would greatly facilitate Turkey's European aspirations. So we also, I mean, this is one of the advantages we see to a settlement. I mean, there's a variety of interests that we have that are -- which, really, the status quo harms those interests; it doesn't help them.

QUESTION: Yonca Poyraz from Voice of America. What would your suggestion be to the European Union to do to facilitate this settlement issue?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: If you step back and think broadly at sort of what's been happening over the last four years, let's say. I think the idea of Europe and the prospect of membership in the European Union really has been a catalyst for quite a bit of the progress that we have seen. I mean, I think it was really one of the driving forces behind this renewed UN effort, which has yielded this Annan Plan.

And I think it has certainly created a positive atmosphere on the island and it's something that Greek and Turkish Cypriots agree on. I mean, both Greek Cypriots want to be in the European Union and Turkish Cypriots want to be in the European Union. Everybody wants to be in the European Union. So it really, I think, has provided quite a bit of momentum behind efforts to try to make this the final chapter in the continuing saga and have it have a happy ending.

So without, simply by doing what they've already done, I think that the European Union has played an important role. Beyond that, I think there's certainly roles that they can play as they have articulated in their various statements in supporting, providing support for the implementation of a settlement. I mean, certainly the European Union organizing a donors conference would be key to ensuring that after the plan is approved in referenda and has begun to be implemented, that the international community is there helping the implementation go forward.

And then European Union already, I think they've been playing a helpful role in their initiatives to get closer to the Turkish Cypriot side. I mean, they've launched some programs and things like that that are drawing the Turkish Cypriots closer to the Union. I think these all are pushing in the same broad direction of supporting UN efforts and helping our diplomacy find fertile ground on the island.

So I think they're playing a very helpful role and I don't have any new tasks that I would like to ask them to undertake.

QUESTION: Do you have the timeframe in your mind for starting negotiations or referenda, or what would be the deadline for a referendum?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: It's hard to answer the question like that. I think, you know, the goal we have in mind certainly is to have a united Cyprus join Europe, the European Union on May 1st, and how much, how long is required to prepare the republics for a referendum and how much time is needed for negotiation, I don't know. I mean, I think -- I would like to see the talks start as soon as possible so that there's, that time does not become an obstacle.

But at this stage, I think it's kind of hard to say, "We need two and half weeks to do this, and five weeks to do that," I don't know. I mean, the end result -- whatever has to be done, which is, you know, resumption of talks, negotiations, educating the public, voting -- all of that has to be done in the next, I think before May 1st. I think it's ambitious but I think it's feasible.

QUESTION: You said you wouldn't want to comment on Turkish proposals because you don't know what they are in the first place.

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Right.

QUESTION: But before commenting on them, I think I understand that you would first like to see a commitment by the Turkish side before any proposals or just any change, that first big plan will be discussed and finalized on the Annan Plan, and then will be brought to a referendum in the Turkish Cypriot side. That's the prerequisites to --

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: That's the Secretary General's prerequisites.

QUESTION: Yeah, prerequisites to bring, before bringing any change, because you should pledge a referendum because at the end, if you don't, if there are parts which you cannot agree with the other side, the missing parts will be filled by the Secretary General and that will also be brought to a referendum.

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Right.

I mean, what you're describing is the framework that the UN has put forward as the way to resolve the problem. And the reason I can't comment on the Turkish proposals because I don't know what they are. And secondly, the United States is not part of the negotiations. I mean, it's not up to us, really, to comment on them. If there's changes to the plan that one side or the other is seeking to have made, those changes -- it can't be done bilaterally with the United States. They have to be done at the negotiating table, and they will be accomplished through mutual agreement. The plan can be changed when both sides say, "This is a change we agree on making."

So, I mean, that part of the discussion can't take place until what you laid out occurs. I mean, that's the framework within which we're working.

QUESTION: So when Prime Minister Erdogan visits Washington and meets President Bush, the Turkish side, first, should commit itself to the Annan process, including the referendum; otherwise, it would be quite meaningless to ask for support for Turkish change proposals on the plan?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I really don't want to get into specifics on Prime Minister Erdogan's visit. I mean, that's a number of weeks off, still. But let me just leave it at the more general level, which is that what we're looking for from the Turkish Cypriot side, from Turkey, from Athens, from the Greek Cypriot side, is to get these talks restarted, and to do that by making a commitment to the Secretary General -- not to us, but to the Secretary General.

The U.S. is not leading these negotiations. We're not hosting these negotiations. This is all about getting the Secretary General to resume the negotiations, and he spent a lot of effort on these the last time around, and I think the purpose of the structure is to ensure that there is seriousness of intent to get it done.

QUESTION: So far, no commitments? So far, no commitments?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Yeah, I mean, if you're asking me has -- if your question is, "Has any --

QUESTION: Any of the parties.

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: -- any of the parties said, 'We're prepared to finalize the plan and put it to a referendum on April 1st,'" the answer is no.

QUESTION: All the four sides first should commit themselves

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Right.

QUESTION: -- vis-à-vis Kofi Annan --

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: Correct.

QUESTION: -- and that's the only way to begin things --

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: That's the way to move the process forward. This is the Secretary General's framework, which the Security Council has supported, and that includes the United States also supporting it.

QUESTION: Some newspaper -- I actually found reports from yesterday calling the Turkish Ambassador in Washington, actually, saying Mr. Erdogan, during his visit to Washington late this month, he is going to -- that is depending on the preparation of the Turkish proposal package, of course -- he is going to seek support of Mr. Bush. And that means, actually, Mr. Erdogan, or, actually, Turkey, is eager to see United States involving more in negotiations.

Do you think, actually, United States could commit itself further than currently, actually, to the Ankara?

AMBASSADOR KLOSSON: I think the United States has been very heavily involved in efforts to help facilitate a Cyprus settlement. I mean, you've seen that over the past year this level of activity has involved the President. It involved the President quite recently. So we're very actively engaged on this.

But the way we engage is by supporting the UN's efforts, and so we need to get the UN's efforts restarted so we can get this resolved. And as I said, we would like to see the talks restarted as soon as possible, with all of the parties making the required commitment. And we look forward to working -- as we have been -- we look forward to working with all the parties to try to bring this to a successful conclusion because we have our own interests, but everybody has their interests, I think.

I think the bottom line is that this gets harder rather than easier as time goes by, and it gets more costly rather than more beneficial as time goes by. And so we all -- if they think through their interests clearly, everybody is better off with a settlement sooner rather than later.

MS. PAPAZIAN: Thank you, Ambassador.