Press Conference with the President of Cyprus
5 June 2008
Gordon Brown welcomed the President of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, to Downing Street this morning for discussions on a range of issues including the reunification of Cyprus.
Read the transcript
Prime Minister:
Can I say I am delighted to welcome President Christofias to Downing Street this morning. I am delighted that he has brought his Ministers and officials with him.
The President has been instrumental in launching work to reunify Cyprus. He has shown vision and political courage, reaching out to the Turkish Cypriot community and its leader, inspiring hope in Cypriots both sides of the Green Line. I agree with the President that it is right to seek a solution by Cypriots, for Cypriots. The UK stands ready to help in securing a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality.
President Christofias has told me he wants the UK to play a strong and supportive role and I have assured him that we will. We will do this through thorough engagement with all the parties in the region and beyond so that the people of Cyprus can seize this chance for a just and lasting settlement, a settlement which has eluded us all for too long. To demonstrate the UK's commitment to this new process I agreed with the President that my Minister for Europe, Jim Murphy, will visit Cyprus in a few weeks' time in July.
Our meeting was also an opportunity to demonstrate the strong bilateral relationship that exists between our two countries and to talk about areas of common interest and political cooperation on a wide range of issues, including many of importance to us as European Union partners. We want a partnership based on friendship and respect at the governmental level which fully reflects the exceptional closeness between the peoples of our two countries. This common interest includes the contribution make by the Cypriot communities who have chosen to live and work in the UK. It also includes the 8,000 plus Cypriots who study in the UK every year, the investments that our business leaders make in each other's economies and the abiding affection for Cyprus shown by the millions of Britons who choose to holiday in Cyprus or indeed retire there.
I am therefore pleased to announce that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, it clearly sets out areas of mutual cooperation for the future, it will help us ensure that we continue to build a strong forward looking and modern relationship. I am also pleased to announce that Cyprus has signed a call to action, demonstrating its commitment to supporting global progress with the Millennium Development Goals.
So welcome again President. It is a great pleasure to have you here. I wish you well and all those involved in the negotiations. I assure you of the UK's commitment to a solution and I welcome what is the continuing strong bond between our two countries.
President Christofias:
I thank the Prime Minister for his kindness in inviting me to have a very friendly, I could say, with common understanding discussion today. As you know Cyprus and the United Kingdom are historically connected with close ties. I am committed, and I promise to the people of Cyprus, that I will do my utmost in order to make the relationship between our two countries better, closer and more developed.
We made the first step with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Brussels, meeting there, and we agreed to meet in London in order to make our cooperation more concrete. Today I consider it a very important day for Cyprus and the United Kingdom and their relationship.
As the Prime Minister said already, we agreed and we signed a Memorandum of Common Understanding. You are going to get the text. I am much satisfied of the content of the Memorandum. We share together the common desire for a solution of the Cyprus problem as soon as possible based on the United Nations Resolutions, on the [indistinct] agreements according to which the unified state would transform to bi-zonal, bi-communal federal state with political equality, as described by the Secretary-General and as defined by the UN Resolutions. The united Cyprus would have one single sovereignty, citizenship and international [indistinct]. We are grateful and this is included in the Memorandum.
On the other hand we want as soon as possible to have the necessary progress in the initiative taken by me and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mehmet Ali Talat, to create conditions for face to face full [indistinct] negotiations in order to give an end to this long standing tragedy on the [indistinct] side of the border, the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.
We thanked Britain about the accession of Turkey to the European Union in [indistinct], of course having in mind that Turkey must fulfil their obligations towards Cyprus and the Protocol of Ankara and towards the union as well, and we shall work together in this direction.
As the Prime Minister underlined, our connections are very close on the economic [indistinct] and we are going to move forward in the direction to develop them more, to make them deepen. Tourism and people exchanges have established [indistinct] in the United Kingdom, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and they are citizens of the United Kingdom and many British people, many people from the United Kingdom are coming more often to Cyprus to live their last years of their life, and they are welcome. So the ties are becoming more and more close and I think it is the duty of both governments to work in order to make these ties more close and more deep.
We have spoken about the [indistinct]. Here is the Memorandum, there is the position of the two sides. I am going to continue working and to develop dialogue according to the Treaty of 1996. This is a communion on both sides. So let's solve any problems being created and let's look forward that new misunderstandings would not appear. I am sure that through dialogue and exchanges we could face any problems [indistinct] which could be created.
Once again I am grateful to the Prime Minister for his invitation and I am sure that as we say in the Memorandum, regular connection and regular exchanges between us will be in practice on a daily [indistinct].
Thank you very much.
Prime Minister:
Thank you President, and you can see that the relationship is strong and getting stronger.
Question: (ITV News)
Prime Minister what are your views and reaction to the comments of Sir Richard Dannatt who has compared that a private soldier is paid compared with a traffic warden, ie a lot less?
Prime Minister:
Can I say that I recognise the huge contribution that our Armed Forces make to the security of the country and we will continue to try to reward our Armed Forces for the dedication and commitment they show, often in very difficult theatres of war. That is why Sir Richard recognises in his remarks that we have given an above inflation award in the last two years to our Armed Forces. For the lowest grade, the most junior grade, in the last year the rise was 9% and that is an indication of how we wish to help the people in our Armed Forces. He also says, Sir Richard, and I appreciate this, that we find other ways of rewarding our Armed Forces, now that includes the reduction and removal of council tax during the period that people are in the theatre, it also includes a special theatre allowance that is in the order of £2,300, and you will see in the next few weeks we will be publishing a White Paper which shows the range of services, including help with accommodation, help with medical services and help with education that we are providing to our Armed Forces. We will do everything in our power in the years to come to recognise the great individual contribution that is made by all the members of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
Question:
Further to what you have said about the readiness to help, how can the UK help in more practical manners towards a Cyprus settlement? And are you ready to accept the influence over Turkey to be more flexible towards a solution?
Prime Minister:
We will continue to talk regularly to the Turkish government. Let me say I fully support the process that has been launched by the President. I believe that this is the historic opportunity to move things forward. We, the United Kingdom, are ready to play our part in any way in a supportive role. And the President has told me that he wants us to do what we can to play this strong role in the future and I have assured him that we can. So we stand ready to help in any way we can to move the process forward, we are committed to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation of political equality and we stand ready to support any process that will result in an indivisible Cyprus.
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