CYPRUS AGREES WITH MOST U.S. POSITIONS ON THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000265 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2016 TAGS: BK BO CG CY EUN IR IZ KPAL MW PREL SR YI SUBJECT: CYPRUS AGREES WITH MOST U.S. POSITIONS ON THE FEBRUARY 27 GAERC AGENDA REF: STATE 25937 Classified By: Ambassador Ronald L. Schlicher, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) On February 23, poloff delivered reftel message to the appropriate action officers in the MFA's office of bilateral affairs. Elena Rafti, who follows Balkan issues, agreed with most U.S. points on the Balkans, and stressed that a strong EU presence in Kosovo and a successful referendum in Montenegro were important priorities for the EU. On Bosnia, however, she said that while streamlining the government was of the utmost importance, it was unlikely to be accomplished before October elections. The EU could not dictate specific criteria for constitutional reforms, she added, and the Commission had signaled that appropriate guidelines for preparation for EU membership already existed in the Copenhagen criteria. Charalambous Hadjisavvas, who covers Middle Eastern issues in the office of bilateral affairs, said that Cyprus fully supported the EU position on both Iran and Hamas. SCHLICHER