View Header

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release May 1, 1996
                TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
           TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                   AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE
                    FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE

May 1, 1996

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

In accordance with Public Law 95-384 (22 U.S.C. 2373(c)), I submit to you this report on progress toward a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question. The previous submission covered progress through January 31, 1996. The current submission covers the period February 1, 1996, through March 31, 1996.

In support of the U.N. Secretary General's good office mission on Cyprus, my Administration hopes to be able to take an initiative on Cyprus this year. If the two communi-ties possess sufficient political will to make tradeoffs required for an intercommunal agreement, we believe it should be possible to arrive at a fair and just solution. Attaining this goal requires the active support of Turkey and Greece. Although unavoidable events have delayed the launching of our Cyprus initiative, we have been preparing its groundwork. In this respect, in March I had a useful session on Cyprus with Turkish President Demirel who expressed his government's desire to be helpful. I plan on engaging other visitors similarly in the lead-up to our Cyprus effort.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

# # #