HC Deb 06 March 1996 vol 273 cc333-4
8. Mr. O'Hara

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to facilitate a settlement of the Cyprus dispute within the terms of United Nations Security Council resolutions. [17264]

Mr. David Davis

We remain committed to an active search for an overall settlement in Cyprus. The process of UN-led negotiations and discussions with both communities and the relevant decisions of the Security Council are at the heart of that search.

Mr. O'Hara

There is an increasing tendency to view the Dayton model as a possible way of achieving a solution to the Cyprus problem. Does the Minister agree that there is a danger that that would result in a quick fix that would not produce a lasting solution? Will he give a commitment on behalf of Her Majesty's Government that any future negotiations regarding a solution to the problem—irrespective of whether they are founded on the Dayton model—will be based on existing United Nations resolutions and its set of ideas, with particular reference to one undivided island, one people, one federal Government and undivided sovereignty?

Mr. Davis

The hon. Gentleman will remember that I addressed that issue during the Adjournment debate this morning. We believe that any achievements will be based on the United Nations' set of ideas and the notion of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. The hon. Gentleman made a very good speech in the debate this morning—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—as did a number of my hon. Friends. The Government are pursuing every possible avenue towards achieving that end.

Sir George Gardiner

Will my hon. Friend tell me what incentive there is for the Greek Cypriot Government to reach an accommodation with the Turkish Cypriot community? As things stand, they benefit from the fiction that they govern the whole of the island, rather than just a part of it, and any international development aid to the island is channelled through them, to the detriment of the Turkish Cypriot community. Are not we more likely to achieve a settlement by adopting a more even-handed approach to the two communities?

Mr. Davis

It is a pity that my hon. Friend did not attend this morning's Adjournment debate, because a number of the virtues of settlement were put by hon. Members who were arguing the Greek Cypriot advantage. Therefore, his original premise does not stand. It is clearly in the interests of the whole island that there is a peaceful and lasting settlement of the problem.