75 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contact, if any, he has had with the Turkish or Cypriot authorities regarding recent developments in that sphere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14734/97]

The major recent development in regard to Cyprus was the start of the process of direct talks between the leaders of the two communities on the island with the objective of seeking an overall political solution to the Cyprus question. This process was established under the aegis of the UN Secretary-General. Two sessions of meetings have taken place between the two leaders, in July in New York and in August in Glion, Switzerland.

There has not as yet been any substantive progress in the talks process. At the August session in Switzerland, Mr. Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader, indicated an unwillingness to continue the process further until he had received an undertaking that the intended EU-Cyprus negotiations on accession to the EU be postponed. However the General Affairs Council on 15 September reaffirmed that there could be no link between face-to-face talks on Cyprus and the start of the accession negotiations.