With a sense of urgency, as she put it, she said she hoped to contribute to the process of resolving the Cyprus problem, US Ambassadorial candidate Julie Fischer said during her Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

“I do not underestimate the complexity of the problems in Cyprus. But I think this is a place where there is a huge opportunity if we can focus and if we can focus our energy on those who pay the highest price and those who will benefit the most from the package deal. What I hope to bring to this process is a sense of urgency. The key element of these negotiations is that they are led by Cyprus and facilitated by the United Nations, and therefore I will be looking in that direction first. I think the timing is absolutely critical,” Ms Fisher said in a statement, reaffirming the longstanding US position that the status quo on the island is unacceptable.

Julie Fischer, an American candidate for the post of ambassador to Nicosia, mentioned the process of resolving the Cyprus problem.

Committee Chairman Robert Menendez was critical of Ankara’s influence on efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue: “I understand that a sense of urgency is important because the conflict has already gone on too long. If the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots were allowed to decide among themselves, things would be different. But the problem is that Ankara puts its hand on the scale and prevents the Turkish Cypriots from finding their way,” he said.

Ms. Fischer, in response to a related question by Mr. Menendez, expressed her support for the 3+1 cooperation scheme (Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the USA) and stated that she would do everything necessary to strengthen this cooperation.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Menendez expressed disappointment with the consistent tactics of the State Department, which, he said, “in cases like Cyprus and Armenia, require both sides to do something when it is clear that the attacker is one.”