UN, Cyprus sticking to their guns
Relations between the Cypriot government and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan remained at an icy level yesterday, after both parties confirmed their disagreement over the failed UN attempt to reunite Cyprus. In a letter to Tassos Papadopoulos released early yesterday, Annan said he had no intention of diluting his criticism of the Cypriot president, as expressed in a report to the UN Security Council at the beginning of this month. «I do stand firm by my report,» Annan said. «As you will have inferred from my report, I take a different view from you on most of the ground covered in your letter and its annex.» In a letter to Annan dated June 7, Papadopoulos angrily dismissed the UN chief’s contention that he had misrepresented the UN peace blueprint ahead of the April 24 referendum on the island. Greek Cypriots went on to overwhelmingly reject Annan’s reunification plan, just as the Turkish Cypriots massively endorsed it. «The Cypriot government also stands firm by its position,» Cypriot government spokesman Kypros Chryssostomidis said yesterday.
