1.
SV INT: Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Butros Ghali walking up stairs with officials, meets Greek Cypriot P.M. Kyprianou. (3 SHOTS)
0.16

2.
CU & SV: Egyptian Deputy F.M. and Kyprianou seated. (2 SHOTS)
0.26

3.
SV: Egyptian wounded commandos on stretchers taken to ambulances. (4 SHOTS)
0.48

4.
SV: Coffins carried out and loaded onto trucks as security officers watch. (2 SHOTS)
1.09

5.
SV INT: News conference Kyprianou speaking in English. (2 SHOTS)
1.44


BIERMAN: "Yesterday's meeting between the deputy Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mr. Butros Ghali and Cyprus President Sypros Kyprianou-though visibly frosty coming as it did so soon after the disastrous airport shootout was seen at least by the Cypriots as an opportunity to stop relations from getting any worse. It seemed that at that meeting there was no talk of Egypt withdrawing its embassy and asking the Cypriots to shut down theirs in Cairo. This was announced only after the tattered remnants of the Egyptian Commando group had flown out of Cyprus late last night with Mr. Ghali and their dead and wounded.



There had been reports of an Egyptian request for a withdrawal of mission from Cairo.



And by midafternoon today it had still not been formally relayed to the Cyprus Government. At a news conference today Mr. Kyprianou made an appeal to the Arab world.



KYPRIANOU:"I would like to appeal to President Sadat - to all the leaders of Arab countries. In the leaders of all the Arab organisations not to turn Cyprus into the place of dispute between them. Cyprus is not the place for them to sort differences in any way."




Initials JS/0200


TELERECORDING
REPORTER: JOHN BIERMAN

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: President Kyprianou of Cyprus has appealed to President Sadat of Egypt to work with him on restoring the good relations which prevailed between the two countries before the disastrous Egyptian Commando raid on a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 on Sunday night (19 February). The raid led to shooting between the Egyptian and Cypriot authorities and the deaths of 15 Egyptian soldiers. Fourteen others were wounded. Forty three other Egyptian Soldiers escaped injury. Reports said the hijackers were on the point of surrendering when the Egyptians launched their attack. An Egyptian Foreign Minister Mr. Butros Ghali flew into Nicosia for talks with Mr. Kyprianou. John Bierman of the British Broadcasting Corporation takes up the story.