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Week Ending October 12, 2007

H.RES.405 Expressing the strong support of the House of Representatives for implementation of the July 8, 2006, United Nations-brokered agreement between President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat relating to the reunification of Cyprus.

The divided island of Cyprus is the subject of this resolution that calls for a careful but timely resuming of negotiations between the parties.

The principals of the commitment to unify Cyprus involves the recognition that the status quo is not acceptable and to further it would bring unwanted consequences, that a commitment to a settlement is desirable and possible and that the process to settlement should begin immediately.

More resolution below….

Sponsor:  Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-9^th)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote October 9, 2007

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

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Whereas, in recognition that any future efforts for a solution of the Cyprus problem need to be carefully prepared, President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met on February 28, 2006, in Paris, and reiterated that, `the resumption of the negotiating process within the framework of the Secretary General's Good Offices must be timely and based on careful preparation';

Whereas on July 8, 2006, President Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, agreed, under the auspices of the United Nations Under Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari, to a set of principles to begin a process of bi-communal discussions;

Whereas the set of principles agreed to are--

(1) commitment to the unification of Cyprus based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and political equality, as set out in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions;

(2) recognition of the fact that the status quo is unacceptable and that its prolongation would have negative consequences for the Turkish and Greek Cypriots;

(3) commitment to the proposition that a comprehensive settlement is both desirable and possible, and should not be further delayed;

(4) agreement to begin a process immediately, involving bi-communal discussion of issues that affect the day to day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both of which will contribute to a comprehensive settlement; and

(5) commitment to ensure that the `right atmosphere' prevails for this process to be successful; in that connection, confidence-building measures are essential, both in terms of improving the atmosphere and improving the life of all Turkish and Greek Cypriots; and also in that connection, an end must be put to the so-called `blame game';

Whereas, according to the agreement, technical committees and working groups would be set up to examine and discuss issues that affect day-to-day life of the people of Cyprus and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, thus contributing to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem;

Whereas in a statement issued on March 20, 2007, President Papadopoulos reiterated his call to Mr. Talat to implement the July 8, 2006, agreement on the basis of United Nations Under Secretary-General Gambari's subsequent suggestions outlining the implementation process;

Whereas on March 27, 2007, the United Nations Security Council in a statement on Cyprus indicated that, `the members of the Security Council urge both communities to work with the United Nations to implement the 8 July 2006 agreement, in particular through the immediate creation of bi-communal working groups and technical committees in order to prepare the ground for full-fledged negotiations leading to a comprehensive and durable settlement';

Whereas the United States has long supported fostering the reunification of Cyprus within a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, and within a process that is led by the United Nations, thereby consistent with the intended aim of the July 8, 2006, agreement, and as set out in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions;

Whereas several meetings have been held between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot members of the coordination committee, consulting on the implementation of the July 8, 2006, agreement, but no technical committees or working groups have been set up as expected; and

Whereas, although the Government of the Republic of Cyprus committed itself to the immediate implementation of the July 8, 2006, agreement, recent statements made by the Turkish Cypriot leadership indicate an unwillingness to proceed with the agreement: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) expresses its support for the immediate implementation of the July 8, 2006, agreement as the way forward to prepare for new comprehensive negotiations leading to the reunification of Cyprus within a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation as set out in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions; and

(2) calls upon the United States Government to fully support the immediate implementation of the July 8, 2006, agreement in its entirety and without deviation from that process.

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