Activities of Secretary-General in Switzerland, 7 to 10 November 2000.

M2 PRESSWIRE-14 November 2000-UN: Activities of Secretary-General in Switzerland, 7 to 10 November 2000 (C)1994-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:13112000

The Secretary-General departed for Geneva on Tuesday, 7 November, where he arrived on Wednesday morning. At his hotel, he met with Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, before her departure for the Middle East.

At midday he consulted with his Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, and his Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast. They reviewed the current state of de Sotos talks with Cypriot leaders Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash, the current round of which had been underway in Geneva since 1 November.

At 3 p.m. the Secretary-General and his team met with His Excellency Glafcos Clerides and his delegation, and then at 4:30 p.m. they met with His Excellency Rauf Denktash and his delegation.

After these sessions, the Secretary-General told the press that he had shared with the two parties his assessment of where things stood with the Cyprus talks, together with some thoughts on where things should go from there. He did not go into details. He added that he had asked Mr. de Soto to travel to Athens, Ankara and Cyprus later in November.

I hope that they will understand my words, he said, as an effort to take further steps in the direction of a comprehensive approach to a settlement.