THE CYPRUS PROBLEM DISCUSSED IN NATO SPONSORED CONFERENCE ON

THE PRIORITIES OF GREEK FOREIGN POLICY

London School of Economics

London

The Cyprus problem was one of the issues discussed in a closed conference titled “Priorities of Greek Foreign Policy” organized in London on Monday, 26 April 2004 by the Greek Observatory of the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). 

Taking part in the conference, which was sponsored by NATO, were top academics, senior researchers and analysts from organizations based in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Greece and Cyprus.  Among them where Ian Lesser of the Pacific Council of International Relations, Stephen Larrabee of the Rand Corporation, Professors Kevin Featherstone, William Wallace and Dr Dimitrios Triantafyllou of the LSE, Thanos Dokos of ELIAMEP and Despina-Ino Afentouli of NATO.  Professor Andreas Theophanous, Director General of the Research and Development Center – Intercollege who participated from Cyprus, explained why certain provisions of the Annan Plan had proved unacceptable to the Greek Cypriots as expressed in their rejection of the plan at the 24 April referendum and underlined the importance and the need to work towards a solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the European Union’s acquis communautaire.

Other issues discussed included Greco-Turkish relations, relations between the EU and Turkey, the Middle East, the Balkans and the position of Greece in the broader Euro-Atlantic framework.  Underlined among other things was the importance attached by Greece to Turkey’s bid to join the EU as well as to the normalization of Greco-Turkish relations.  The aim of the conference was to propose guidelines for Greek foreign policy.