The US will continue to support the agreed Security Council framework for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality and will continue to urge the parties to resume negotiations, US Ambassador Julie Fischer said after a meeting she had with the President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou. On her part, Demetriou in statements to the Press after the meeting held in her office, said that the United States of America (US) absolutely has a key role in the resumption of the talks for a Cyprus settlement while noting that a visit to the US is imminent, but has not yet been scheduled. "We really had a wonderful opportunity to talk about issues of great importance between the United States and Cyprus, such a rich agenda, so many issues of global and strategic importance to issues that I know are important to everyday Cypriots and we're trying to deliver some very concrete results for them", the U.S. Ambassador said. She noted that a wide range of issues were discussed as well as further opportunities for closer cooperation between the President of the House of Representatives and the American members of Congress, visits and issues related to the current political agenda, and also opportunities to bring Cypriots and Americans closer together and increase traveling between the United States and Cyprus. Asked if she is optimistic as regards the resumption of negotiations, following the visit of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders to the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP) laboratory last Friday and the Greek Prime Minister's visit to Cyprus yesterday, she said that "for our part, the United States we have urged a return to negotiations and we will continue to do that. We will continue to stand by the Security Council framework, that has been agreed for a Bizonal, Bicommunal Federation with political equality and we will continue to urge the parties to resume those negotiations." She further said that the leaders' visit to the Committee on Missing Persons Laboratory was a really important one. It required leadership, she said, on the part of the leaders of both communities. " I would like to see more progress; I would like to see more evidence of cooperation between the two communities. I think it's really important right now," she concluded. On her part, the President of the House of Representatives said they discussed issues at a difficult political time, noting that U.S.-Cyprus relations are probably at their best level. Asked whether the US will have a decisive role in the resumption of the talks, the President of the House of Representatives replied "absolutely" and added that common sense proves it and that is why through diplomacy "and where we can contribute as a Parliament, through parliamentary diplomacy, we should make the necessary moves and that is what we are doing". "We need to see how we jointly address these issues that exist and, above all, that in view of the UN Summit in September, we intensify our efforts so that negotiations can restart from where they were left, on the basis of the agreed framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality," Demetriou said. She pointed out that an official visit by the Parliament to the US is planned, saying that "we will continue this cooperation which we consider constructive and extremely important, especially during this political period". Asked whether a visit to the US is imminent, Demetriou answered in the affirmative, saying that this is what is being planned and was discussed today with the US ambassador. "As soon as I am in a position to have more details, I will let you know," she replied. Moreover, according to a press release by the House of Representatives, during the meeting, both sides underlined the significant boost in Cyprus-US relations and the importance of cooperation, both at the bilateral level and in the context of broader partnerships, to address common challenges. It is also noted that during the meeting, pending bills before the House of Representatives on issues of common interest to both countries were discussed, while it is added that the US Ambassador informed the President of the House of Representatives about the efforts underway for the Republic of Cyprus to join the US Visa Waiver Program.
Source: Cyprus News Agency