Viewpoint wrote:Excerpt from the Spokesman of the US State Department Richard Boucher’s Press Statement of 26 April 2004
„We think that a Greek Cypriot vote against the settlement means that a unique and historic opportunity was lost. We believe the settlement was fair. It has been accepted by the Turkish Cypriot side. There will not be a better settlement. There is no other deal. There is no better deal available. And we hope that the Greek Cypriots will come to comprehend this in due time. We have nothing but praise for the courageous Turkish Cypriots who voted for this settlement.... There's not a new negotiation plan, there's not a renegotiation plan. This is the deal... We do think that there was a lot of manipulation by the Greek Cypriot leaders in the run-up to the election; that the outcome was regrettable but not surprising, given those actions. I think the Europeans as well have made clear -- statements by External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten, European Parliamentary President Pat Cox, Enlargement Commissioner Verheugen -- that they have strong concerns in that regard as well. So we'll just have to see how things evolve.
http://www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/main/92, ... 4252-.aspx
"US leadership on the Cyprus issue should reflect President Barack Obama's recent words that 'we uphold our fundamental principles and values'. Cypriots of all backgrounds benefit from American efforts that adhere to the principles, freedoms and liberties of our country and those of the acquis communautaire of the EU. In 2004, the Annan Plan for a settlement in Cyprus was fraught with elements that went against these principles. Subsequent to Cyprus' rejection of the primarily US State Department-drafted Annan Plan, American policies toward Cyprus were less than cooperative. We trust that you will move beyond the provisions in the rejected Annan Plan that would be unacceptable to western democracies."
Senators Robert Menendez, Barbara Boxer, Benjamin Cardin, Robert Casey, Christopher Dodd, Russell Feingold, Kirsten Gillibrand, Edward Kaufman and Jeanne Shaheen