Obama and Cyprus

President Barack Obama has said that the United States is willing to offer all the help sought by the parties in Cyprus as they work towards a just and lasting settlement that reunifies Cyprus into a bizonal and bicommunal federation.

Addressing the Turkish parliament yesterday, Mr Obama was referring to "disputes that persist in the Eastern Mediterrenean", saying that "there is a cause for hope" in that the two Cypriot leaders "have an opportunity through their commitment to negotiations under the United Nations Good Offices Mission".

Earlier, President Demetris Christofias, speaking to Mr Obama on the sidelines of the EU-US summit in Prague on Sunday, urged the United States to use its leverage with Turkey to bring about an end to the island’s continuing occupation. Christofias said he found US President Barack Obama to be “responsive” during their brief tête-a-tête, the first time the two leaders have met in person.

“I detected a sincere response from Mr Obama. I would like to say that on certain matters he complemented our positions. From then on, it remains to be seen how this will translate in real terms,” Christofias told newsmen later.Also on the sidelines of the EU-US summit, Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou had a half-hour meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who reiterated US support for a Cyprus settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation.

According to the Cyprus Mail, Nicosia is concerned that warming US-Turkish relations may harden Ankara’s stance on Cyprus. The paper reports that House Speaker and acting President Marios Garoyian cautioned that Cypriot diplomacy should keep a close watch on international developments. "One should take Mr Obama’s visit to Turkey very seriously, despite earlier signs of a possible shift in US policy [on Cyprus].

“Turkey remains important as ever to US geopolitical interests, and it will take a lot of hard work, both by the Cypriot and Greek governments, so as to make the most of our influence within the United States,” Garoyian said.Meanwhile the Kyrenia Refugees Association yesterday staged a silent demo outside the US Embassy building in Nicosia to protest Obama’s visit to Turkey.