The Cyprus government is more than satisfied with the reference to the Cyprus issue contained in the conclusions of the European Union summit in Nice, government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said.
"The government is very pleased because the reference clearly outlines the proper framework under which Cyprus solution efforts should be conducted," Papapetrou told AFP.
The conclusions state that the European Union "strongly supports" UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's efforts to achieve an overall agreement in Cyprus "consistent with UN Security Council Resolutions".
Papapetrou said the government considers the EU's reference to UN resolutions to be "very significant" because it underscores the bloc's continued interest in efforts to find a solution.
Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said last week that UN-brokered indirect talks with Greek Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides, which began in December 1999, were over and called for negotiations based on dialogue between two equal states.
The next round is scheduled for late January 2001 in Geneva.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia seeking to unite the island with Greece.
Denktash unilaterally declared the occupied north an independent state in 1983, but it is recognized only by Turkey -- NICOSIA (AFP)
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