The U.N's Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari on 20 March 2006 sent a letter on behalf of the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to President Mehmet Ali Talat. The letter confirmed that prior to the Paris meeting although the two leaders had agreed to discuss certain issues at a technical level, these technical meetings would not replace the negotiation process that was within the framework of the Secretary-General's good offices mission.

The U.N letter regarding the Paris meeting between Kofi Annan and the Greek Cypriot Leader Tassos Papadopoulos and the technical committees was sent to President Talat last week. The TRNC Presidency is currently evaluating the letter.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

"Following the conversation with you on 3 March, the Secretary-General has asked me to respond with the clarifications sought by Mr. Serdar Denktash in his telegraphic message on 28 February.

At the outset, my I reiterate the Secretary-General's readiness to provide his Good Offices to the Cyprus issue. The Secretary-General is grateful for the reiteration of your commitment to reaching a comprehensive settlement under his Good Offices mission. He is also gratified at your expressions of confidence in him.

As he has expressed publicly on several occasions in the recent past, the Secretary-General does not think that the situation is yet ripe for the resumption of full-fledged political talks aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement. He is concerned that the gaps between the two communities, as well as the gap between words and deeds, are still too wide. At the same time, the Secretary-General is keenly conscious of the need for renewed forward movement on the Cyprus issue and is, thus, in full agreement with the step-by-step approach suggested to you and Mr. Papadopoulos by his Special-Representative on Cyprus. He is as he had the occasion to say publicly, very pleased that the two sides have both agreed to this proposal.

The purpose of the meeting with Mr. Papadopoulos in Paris was to review the situation in Cyprus, and to discuss ways of moving forward the process of reuniting the island. At the end of the meeting, a statement was issued, in which the Secretary-General and Mr. Papadopoulos made public the main trust of their discussion, as the Secretary-General had the opportunity to explain to you during the telephone conversation on 3 March.

Please rest assured that the intention of issuing the statement was to provide a concise account of the discussion on a number of issues, and not, in any way, to create new facts on the ground without agreement from the Turkish Cypriot side. Please also note that while Mr. Denktash's message refers to it as a "joint statement", its official title was 'Paris, 28 February 2006 - Statement issued following the meeting between the Secretary-General and President Tassos Papadopoulos.

For the sake of transparency, I would like to lay out what was discussed at the Paris meeting. There was a firm commitment by the Greek Cypriot side to finding a viable and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem that would be acceptable to both sides, and the Secretary-General confirmed that his Good Offices remained available. The Secretary-General stressed that there was a need for action as an indication of the parties' will to move forward. In this context it was confirmed that the leaders of both communities had agreed, before the Paris meeting that bicommunal discussions on a series of agreed issues would be undertaken at the technical level, but that the technical discussions were not to be a substitute for the negotiating process in the framework of the Secretary-General's Good Offices mission.

The Secretary-General and Mr. Papadopoulos expressed their common sentiment that it would be beneficial for all concerned if progress could also be achieved on other issues such as de-mining, disengagement of forces and Famagusta. Without relating these issues to the technical committees, it was agreed that further work need to be done on them, at a time and in a manner to be determined by both sides, in order for progress to be achieved towards a comprehensive settlement.

The issue of missing persons was discussed, which was considered highly important. In this context, Mr. Papadopoulos reiterated his readiness to meet with you on the occasion the installation of the third member of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP). The Secretary-General's Special Representative had already mentioned this possibility to the Turkish Cypriot side. The Secretary-General feels that this would be an opportunity to show the highest level of commitment and support for the work of the CMP.

In the Paris meeting, the discussion also touched upon the Action Plan put forward by Foreign Minister Gül on 24 January. The Secretary-General urged Mr. Papadopoulos not to view it as an attempt by Turkey to circumvent its EU obligations. He suggested that it might be useful to compile a matrix of what sides wanted in order to move forward. With reference to the mention of Famagusta in the statement issued after the Paris meeting, I should like to note that the Action Plan also made reference to it (in paragraph 3) and therefore the subject came up, as it naturally would, in the related discussion.

I should like to reiterate that with respect to the comment on the Secretary-General having "agreed" and having expressed "common hope" with Mr. Papadopoulos, it should be clear from the wording of the statement that the issues to which these sentiments were attached are subject to discussion with the Turkish Cypriot side. There was no unilateral agreement on issues that quite clearly have to be agreed to by both sides. These remarks should not be seen in any way as pre-judging the outcome of a process leading to common understanding.

The process that has been proposed is not intended to be a "piece-meal" approach but a "step-by-step" approach, the objective of which is to work carefully and deliberately, starting as a first step with technical issues to help fill the current gap between the two sides, reinstall trust, and create the confidence and conditions for final talks towards a comprehensive settlement.

In answer to Mr. Denktash's question about the "Annan Plan", Mr. Papadopoulos did not present his priorities. In this particular meeting, the Secretary-General and Mr. Papadopoulos concentrated on discussing ways of unblocking the stalemate that has persisted for two years, and on ways to move the process forward in a manner that would be agreed to by both sides.

With regard to the comment on the statement placing the two leaders on an unequal footing, please rest assured that the statement does not detract from the respect and esteem in which the Secretary-General and his colleagues hold you. Neither does it diminish your role as the Turkish Cypriot leader, and as a full partner in the search for a solution to the Cyprus problem in the context of the Secretary-General's Good Offices mission.

The Secretary-General is pleased to have already had an opportunity to briefly discuss with you the outcome of the Paris meeting. He asked me to reiterate what he said to you on the phone to work with his Special-Representative to devise practical approaches to bridging the differences between the two sides, thereby improving the environment for the resumption of the talks. The Secretary-General also looks forward to meeting with you at a convenient time to discuss further issues of mutual interest and concern.