Nicosia, 12/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - After a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kassoulides, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou stated on Tuesday that it was now up to the EU to take specific initiatives with a view to finding a solution to the Cypriot question, as it has now become a European issue, which opens new possibilities and new implements to approach it. Mr Papandreou also voiced the hope that the year 2000 would see an end to the Cypriot tragedy, explaining, according to the press agency ANA: "We have all the prerequisites for attaining our objective within the framework of a bi-zonal federation and I want to reiterate categorically that this is the unshakeable position of the Greek and Cypriot Governments". With this assertion, Mr Papandreou sought to put an end to a controversy in Greece over rumours that Athens could now support the idea of setting up a confederation in Cyprus.