Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Monday with Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou to discuss prospects for a comprehensive Cyprus settlement. «We continue to actively support the U.N. secretary-general's approach toward a permanent solution on Cyprus,» State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said ahead of the talks, according to AP. He noted that U.N. Secretary General Annan has urged Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos to present his views to the U.N. and resume progress on a way forward. «We stand ready to assist all sides in that task,» McCormack said. On his departure Saturday from Nicosia, Iacovou said the purpose of his meeting with Rice was to improve U.S.-Cypriot relations. Bilteral relations deteriorated after Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected a U.N.-sponsored plan to reunify the island in a referendum last year. Papadopoulos opposed the plan before the referendum, saying it did not address Greek Cypriot concerns. But he says it can form a basis for a settlement if necessary changes are made.
