By Jean Christou

THE US Vice President’s visit this week is not about imposing a Cyprus solution or pressuring the two sides into a settlement, senior White House administration officials said yesterday.

In a 20-minute conference call from Washington with Cypriot and foreign journalists, a senior official outlined Joe Biden’s preliminary itinerary for the visit, beginning tomorrow evening and culminating in a dinner with the two leaders followed by a press statement. The Vice President leaves on Friday morning.

Biden’s meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, which had caused reactions from the Greek Cypriot side in terms of “upgrading the breakaway state in the north”, was still up in the air until late last night when the final schedule was released saying the meeting would take place with Eroglu on Thursday afternoon at his residence.

“The Vice President intends to see Mr Eroglu and to discuss with him how we can all work together, the Turkish Cypriot community, the Greek Cypriot community and the international community that supports them, to work towards a settlement,” said the senior White House official earlier.

He said Biden was visiting Cyprus at a time of “renewed hope and energy” between the two communities as they worked towards a comprehensive settlement to reunify the island.

“We believe these would be useful opportunities for the Vice President to hear Cypriot ideas on how they hope to shape their future as well as to hear the views of the leaders and negotiators about how the current political environment and public perceptions are influencing settlement talks,” he said.

He mentioned the cross visits of the negotiators of the two sides to Ankara and Athens, and the increased dialogue between the island’s religious leaders.

In addition to seeing President Nicos Anastasiades, Biden will meet the religious leaders, members of political, business and civil society “who will play varying roles in this process”.

“The Vice President sees the cooperation and dialogue by religious leaders as a positive example of the kind of trust, reconciliation and respect that can be built across divides,” the official said. He will speak to the religious leaders in a round table format.

He also expects to meet members of the UN Good Offices Mission “that orchestrates the current talks”.

“We’re not coming to impose solutions or to pressure the two sides. This is about hearing Cypriot ideas about what a solution could look like. The Vice President will offer continued US assistance as long as the sides find it useful,” said the official.

He also said the US believes every country in the region “and Turkey and Greece being very important players” should be supporting a settlement that leads to a bi-zonal bi-communal federation “and a better future for both communities in Cyprus”.

“And we’ve been pleased to see the role of Turkey in the cross visits that took place that were very productive, and our understanding is that Turkey will continue to work to play a constructive role in efforts and we go forward. We are obviously consulting with the people in the government in Turkey as we do with the people in the government in Greece and with the leaders in both communities in Cyprus and we expect those consultations to continue as we go forward,” he added.

But the Cyprus issue will only be part of a much wider agenda of topics for the visit, which will include EU sanctions on Russia, and energy matters.

“It’s first and foremost about strengthening our bilateral ties… and about consulting on regional developments including Russia’s destabilising actions in the Ukraine,” said the official. “This also grows out of the Vice President’s engagement across the broader region… the US showing solidarity with all of our European partners at a complicated and challenging time.”

He said the Republic of Cyprus was a new “but also a strong strategic partner”.

“We believe Cyprus can play a pivotal role in regional peace and security throughout the eastern Mediterranean,” said the official.

He said the government of President Anastasiades had reoriented the country to promote core European and transatlantic priorities in the eastern Mediterranean, “something that we have welcomed.”

The official mentioned Cyprus’ cooperation in removing chemical weapons from Syria, nuclear non proliferation, counter terrorism and crisis response.

“Meanwhile, the discovery of hydrocarbons in the country’s EEZ could position Cyprus, we believe, as an energy and economic leader in the region,” said the official.

The EU’s Russia sanctions will be discussed in detail, according to the official, given Cyprus’ concerns over the effect they might have on the struggling economy.

The White House official said the US had already held consultations with the Cypriot government about the issue, and Biden has discussed it personally with Anastasiades.

“Cyprus has supported the European Union… it has been part of the EU consensus in imposing the sanctions imposed so far. The EU has also made clear at its most recent foreign affairs council meeting that continuing destabilising actions by Russia will lead to further sanctions,” he said.

“Cyprus was part of the decision-making that produced that outcome. This will be an important topic of conversation in the Vice President’s meetings with Anastasiades.

“He will want to be able to consult on what costs will be able to be imposed if Russia continues to take steps to destabilise the situation in Ukraine. Obviously, we are aware of and understanding of the exposure of Cyprus to Russian economic activity and Russian economic pressure, but we believe that a sanctions regime can continue to be enforced and frankly bolstered if it comes to that on Russia, without imposing unnecessary costs on Cyprus,” the official concluded.





