§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he considers the visit of his Minister of State to Cyprus to have had a successful outcome; if he is 600W optimistic of a peaceful settlement on the island in the near future; and if he will make a statement;
(2) whether, during the visit of the Minister of State to Cyprus, the presence of Turkish troops was discussed; what replies he gave; and if he will make a statement on the discussions which took place on this matter.
§ Mr. JuddThe object of my visit was to inform myself at first hand of the present situation there, and to meet the leaders of both Cypriot communities. I met President Kyprianou, Mr. Denktash, the Foreign Minister, Archbishop Chrysostomos, other leaders on both sides, and the Commander of the United Nations force, as well as leaders of the British community.
The Government earnestly hope that a peaceful settlement in Cyprus can be achieved, and look forward with keen interest to the proposals promised by the Turkish side. I urged on the Turkish Cypriots the need for their proposals to be as forthcoming as possible, and on the Greek Cypriots the need for their response to the proposals to be as positive as possible, so that an early resumption of the intercommunal talks can be achieved. I also made clear that, although it is for the two communities in Cyprus themselves to agree on the terms of a settlement, the British Government remain willing to help in ways which the parties would consider useful.
As regards the presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus, this is one aspect of the problem which can be satisfactorily resolved only in the context of an overall settlement. The Government therefore hope that early progress towards such a settlement will be made, thus paving the way for a level of all forms of military presence acceptable to both the Greek and the Turkish sides.