Letter to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Reporting on the Cyprus Conflict

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Chairman.')

In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 95-384, I am submitting the following report on progress made during the past 60 days toward reaching a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus problem.

In the course of continuing discussion of the United Nations "evaluation" of the intercommunal negotiations, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot negotiators met on April 14, 21, and 30 and May 4, 6, 11, 13, and 18. The negotiators have continued to focus their discussion on elements of the United Nations "evaluation" of the intercommunal negotiations. Having completed their initial review of many of the "points of coincidence," the communities are now beginning examination of "points of equidistance" including such issues as the freedoms of movement, settlement and property ownership in any future agreement. The negotiating sessions continue to be useful and constructive discussions with good relations between the participants.

United Nations Secretary General Perez de Cuellar met in Rome on April 4 with Cypriot President Kyprianou and in Geneva on April 9 with Turkish Cypriot leader Denktash. These meetings provided a thorough review of the status of the negotiations and both sides agreed to accelerate the pace of the talks and hold two meetings per week. The negotiating parties also agreed to meet again with the Secretary General in New York in June for a further review of the negotiating process.

We believe that the intercommunal negotiations are firmly established as a strong and effective tool to promote progress toward resolving the Cyprus problem. I wish to congratulate both the United Nations Secretary General and his Special Representative on Cyprus, Ambassador Hugo Gobbi, for their commitment to bringing the Cyprus problem to a just and lasting settlement. They have my full support for their efforts. We hope that the negotiators will seize the opportunities offered by the United Nations "evaluation" to make progress toward resolving outstanding differences between the communities.

Sincerely,

RONALD REAGAN