NEW INITIATIVES IN CYPRUS

That this House warmly welcomes the recent positive developments in Cyprus following the election of President Demetris Christofias which, both at his initiative and through reciprocal decisions by Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, have created a new atmosphere of contact and co-operation; congratulates both leaders on succeeding in opening the fifth crossing point at the heart of the old city of Nicosia, the Cyprus equivalent of the pulling down of the Berlin Wall, reuniting after 44 years the Ledra Street/Lokmaci shopping area; congratulates Mehmet Ali Talat for his ice-cream diplomacy and the Republic of Cyprus police and security personnel, Greek Cypriot shopkeepers and shoppers in making him welcome, the first time any Turkish Cypriot leader has received such a positive reception; further welcomes another major step forward in the establishment of the six working groups and seven technical committees envisaged in the Gambari agreement of July 2006; expresses its support for the democratically elected government of Turkey which is under threat and which can help Cyprus reunification become a reality; and looks forward with optimism to a genuinely Cypriot settlement which will be to the benefit of the whole region arising from these initiatives leading to a comprehensive settlement.