Secretary-General's press encounter after inauguration of the UN Regional Information Centre (RUNIC)

Q: I have some questions for the Secretary-General on Cyprus. After your talks yesterday with the Cypriot President Mr. Papadopoulos, how confident are you that you can resume talks? Are there any other parties you need to talk to before you can set a date? And finally, Mr. Colin Powell has volunteered his help to get the process moving. Are there other senior players for example Javier Solana, the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, that you would like to see get involved. Thank you.

SG: Thank you, very much. I had a good discussion with President Papadopoulos, who also affirmed to me his determination to resume talks and that the sooner the better. He would proceed on the basis of the plan I have put on the table and would want us to ensure that if we do resume negotiations all the preparatory work would be done before 1 [May] so that if one state were to enter the European Union it would be in a place to function and move ahead very quick so he did indicate his determination to proceed. I will need to hear from the Turkish Cypriots, I haven't heard from them yet, and I would also be in touch with the Greek Government, which is one of the motherlands.

I did speak to Secretary of State Powell last night and he did indicate that they will be supportive. And in the previous efforts we had a senior envoy from the United Kingdom and the United States supporting us as well as a senior person from the European Union and I do expect that kind of support to continue. We will need all the support we can. We have very little time and I hope the parties will come to the table with concrete ideas and determined to move forward.

There was a second part to your question?

Q: It's just how confident were you after yesterday and how close are you to setting a date? What do you think …

SG: …Oh I see…

Q: … you can set a date for the resumption?

SG: As I indicated I would need to hear from two more parties and then I would be in a better position to determine when and where we resume the talks and if the conditions are met. But I will be in touch with everybody fairly shortly.

Q: Monsieur le Secrétaire général, aujourd'hui ou demain si je ne me trompe pas le Conseil de sécurité doit voter les trois mois de prolongation de la Mission au Sahara occidental. Est-ce que ce sont les trois derniers mois pour le Maroc pour se décider à appuyer le plan de paix? Merci.

SG: Je crois qu'il y a un peu de travail à faire. Il y a eu des contacts entre M. Baker et eux. Le Conseil de sécurité va renouveler le mandat pour quelques mois pour permettre à M. Baker et moi-même de continuer notre travail avec les parties.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, do you have any comment to make on the Middle East following the overnight raid into Bethlehem by Israeli troops in the aftermath of yesterday's suicide bombing?

SG: No, I think yesterday I had the chance to share with some of you my concern for the situation in the Middle East which is extremely worrying. We have seen in the last couple of days many, many people killed. As you know, I have always condemned without reservation suicide bombings that take innocent lives and have also indicated that we need to be active and energize our efforts to find a way of bringing the parties to the table. And it is essential that we do all we can to lead them to the path of peace and I believe we owe it to the people in the region, their families and their children, to really find a way of breaking this cycle of violence and revenge. And I send my deepest sympathy and condolences to the families and all those who lost loved ones and those who have been injured and are in hospital. But the only solution to this is to focus on peace.

Q: Je voulais vous poser la question sur le réengagement, les conditions de réengagement des Nations Unies en Iraq. Est-ce que depuis quelques jours vous êtes un peu optimiste? Que les conditions que vous demandez pour le retour des experts des Nations Unies sont en train de se réunir ou bien quand vous voyez la situation sur le terrain, c'est plutôt disons le pessimisme qui…?

SG: Non, je crois que nous sommes en train de faire des progrès. La coalition ma indiqué, nous a promis qu'ils feront le maximum pour protéger l'équipe qui va faire le travail en Iraq. Donc je crois que d'ici quelques jours, l'équipe doit pouvoir voyager et commencer leur travail. Merci.