Cyprus Settlement Talks

Floor Speech

Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to be here today and to have the opportunity to speak about something very important both to me and to many of the constituents I serve in New York's Fifth District: the Cyprus settlement talks. I'm here to tell you that I am following the negotiations carefully--that I am ready to lend my support in any way I can. And I am here to tell you that America wants these talks to be successful--that America is engaged. Mr. Biden's visit in May was the first by an American Vice-President in over 50 years, and that says a lot. Finding a fair and mutually acceptable resolution to the situation in Cyprus is a priority at the very highest levels of our government--and we will not rest until we succeed.

I am also here to tell you that I'm hopeful. I have not forgotten the false-starts of the past, nor am I nai 4ve about the difficulties which lie ahead, but I am hopeful that Cyprus has turned a corner--that things are different this time. I'm optimistic that there's a real chance for progress. Not long after Mr. Biden departed Cyprus, in fact, Greek Cypriot President Mr. Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Mr. Eroglu, agreed to meet at least twice a month to discuss how they could build trust between the two sides. I commend both leaders for taking this step, and I express my utmost support for continuing an open and honest dialogue.

I am also hopeful because at no other time during the 40 years Cyprus has been divided was reaching a settlement so critical. For millennia Cyprus has been at the crossroads of civilization. It has been a hub of commerce and a strategic waypoint for all who transited the Mediterranean. And it remains so today, but with even greater strategic implications. Located at the nexus of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, Cyprus is a vital source of stability and security in one of the world's most volatile regions. And with a robust free-market, services-based economy and newly discovered natural gas reserves, Cyprus stands to benefit greatly from increasing ties with the international community, especially the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership--a free trade agreement I strongly support.

But Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike are being denied the bright future they deserve. It is time to come to the negotiating table ready to make compromises, ready to make progress. It is time to reunify Cyprus based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, as called for by multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. It is time to turn a page in Cyprus' history and find out what great surprises the next chapter holds in store.

I stand by my friends and colleagues in Cyprus and the Cypriot diaspora--ready to read that next chapter. And America stands by too--determined to deepen the partnership between our two great countries, eager to see just how much we can accomplish when we work together.

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