SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH SPEAKER OF TURKISH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release
SG/T/2058

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH SPEAKER OF TURKISH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

ISTANBUL, Turkey, 2 June -- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali discussed the role of parliamentarians in international affairs with the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mustafa Kalemli, Saturday morning, 1 June. Mr. Kalemli told the Secretary-General that the Turkish Parliament held the United Nations in the highest esteem and appreciates the work undertaken by the United Nations system throughout Turkey.

The Secretary-General reviewed the Organization's role in democratization and in providing electoral assistance to Member States. He expressed his appreciation to Turkey for the assistance it provide to the newly independent republics of the former Soviet Union.

The Secretary-General later met the staff of the United Nations system working in Turkey, at the integrated United Nations office in Ankara. The agencies represented included the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations International Drug Control Programme, the United Nations Information Centre and the World Bank, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

On Sunday, 2 June, the Secretary-General left Ankara for Istanbul. In an airport press conference, the Secretary-General, replying to a question on Cyprus, confirmed that he would be meeting with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Rauf Denktash, in Istanbul on 5 June and with the President of Cyprus, Glafcos Clerides, in Geneva on 11 June. Asked whether he would be presenting any new ideas, the Secretary-General said he would not. He would be listening to the two sides, trying to find a common denominator from which to start a new phase of negotiations.

On the memorandum of understanding signed on 20 May between the United Nations and Iraq on the "oil-for-food" formula, the Secretary-General said the agreement was based on Security Council resolution 986 (1995) and was not related to other resolutions on Iraq. It was based on the principle of

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humanitarian assistance. It was too early to say what the outcome of that agreement would be, he said, adding that he hoped it would represent a first step in creating new momentum in the relationship between Iraq and the international community.

the Secretary-General attended and addressed, along with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, an evening of traditional Turkish song and dance held in the open-air stadium in Istanbul Sunday evening, marking the opening of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements.

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