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