Spring optimistic as he ends two day visit to Cyprus

THE Tanaiste, Mr Spring, yesterday ended his two day official visit to Cyprus by going walk about in Pyla in the UN buffer zone the only mixed village remaining on the island.

He was scrupulously evenhanded in his approach. First, he called in at the Turkish Cypriot cafe a handsome building in the traditional style featuring the double Cyprus arch. Then he went to the main Greek Cypriot cafe a modern box bearing the name the "Star of Macedonia."

By ending his brief political tour here, Mr Spring sent a message to the island's two communities, saying that they too, like the people of Pyla, could live together in harmony and peace. He was also signalling that Ireland and the EU, like the half dozen gardai who maintain law and order in Pyla, were prepared to help the Cypriots reach a settlement which would reunify the island.

Mr Spring adopted the same even handed approach to the island's politicians, dividing his time equally between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in an attempt to convince both sides that EU accession negotiations could present a "window of opportunity" for them to resolve their differences and reach a settlement based on the UN proposal for a bizonal, bicommunal republic.

Yesterday, Mr Spring crossed the Green Line to meet the leaders of the four parliamentary parties and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash.

On an optimistic note, Mr Spring told Tile Irish Times "Views were expressed to me this morning that 90 per cent of the population of northern Cyprus is aware of the potential benefits of European Union membership. And I think that has to weigh heavily in the equation."

But, during a press conference northern Nicosia, Mr Denktash once again rejected Cyprus's EU entry in the absence of a settlement. He reiterated his longstanding position "that EU entry comes to the agenda when we have agreed on a settlement and the status of the Turkish Cypriots is underlined and accepted by all concerned, so we have a say in the accession agreements.

However, Mr Denktash's statement was preempted by the Republic's Foreign Minister, Mr Alecos Michaelides, who on Wednesday expressed his government's desire to settle the Cyprus problem in the two years before accession talks begin.

Mr Spring and his delegation were up beat about the results of their contacts. "I think there are prospects" for progress, he asserted. "It's very difficult to assess just how immediate those prospects are. In the world of politics we spend a lot of time looking for opportunities, looking for the right time that could be now. I don't want to overestimate the substance of the opportunities but I think there are certain limited hopes ...