Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – in the House of Commons at 1:48 pm on 27 November 1996.
I have no doubt that both Turkey and Greece have an important role to play, but I hope that the solution to the problem lies in the political will that will be shown by both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities and their respective leaders. What makes the problem capable, perhaps, of some progress and potential resolution is that both communities have said that they look forward to the day when Cyprus will be a bizonal, bicommunal federation. If they can agree on the end result, the challenge is how to get from where we are now to that conclusion. I believe that that points towards early negotiations between the two communities, and I hope that they can begin to take place in a serious and considered way early next year.