The Cyprus Conflict Letter to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

To Speaker Tip O'Neill (To Chairman Frank Church)

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

In my last report to the Congress on Cyprus, dated June 4, I took note of the decision reached by President Kyprianou and Turkish Cypriot leader Denktash during their May 18-19 meetings to resume intercommunal negotiations on June 15. These negotiations resumed as scheduled under the chairmanship of United Nations Under Secretary General Perez de Cueliar. A number of procedural issues were settled in the course of the first session. Unfortunately, however, differences soon arose over the interpretation of the ten-point Communiqué agreed upon in Nicosia on May 18-19, which serves as a broad agenda for the talks. The (;reek Cypriots took the position that the Varosha issue should be discussed first in accordance with point five of the Communiqué which states that "priority will be given to reaching agreement on the resettlement of Varosha." The Turkish Cypriots, on the other hand, maintained that point two of the Communiqué, dealing with the overall basis for the talks, should be discussed first.

When it became clear that these differences of approach could not easily be overcome, Under Secretary General Perez de Cueliar decided to recess the negotiations on June 22 and to pursue a compromise resolution through informal consultations with the parties. These consultations have now been in progress in Nicosia for some four weeks. As of this writing, no firm date has been set for reconvening the talks, although there have been indications of greater flexibility and the elements of a solution are beginning to emerge. Our assessment is that given sufficient determination on the part of all concerned a practical way can be found out of these current difficulties that will permit the negotiators to return to the table within a short time. I assure you that this Administration will continue to work closely with the United Nations, the Cypriot parties and our allies both to overcome the present, hopefully temporary, difficulties and to help ensure ultimate success in the negotiations.

The Turkish Cypriot side has not yet given final endorsement to the procedures worked out in Nicosia on May 18-19 concerning the formation of a joint committee to trace and account for missing persons in Cyprus. With the assistance of expert organizations such as the International Red Cross, the proposed joint committee should be in a position to resolve this long-standing humanitarian problem.

I enclose with this report a copy of Secretary-General Waldheim's comprehensive report on May 31 to the United Nations Security Council on the United Nations operation in Cyprus.

Sincerely,

JIMMY CARTER