Jan 10 (NT-AFP) - Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring held talks with President Glafcos Clerides i Nicosia on Wednesday during a fact-finding mission to help prepare for negotiations on Cyprus joining the European Union. Spring, whose country will assume the presidency of the EU in July, was also hoping to use his experience of the Northern Ireland peace process to help reconcile Greek and Turkish Cypriots on this divided island. US President Bill Clinton, following Washington's mediation efforts in Bosnia and the Middle East, has asked Spring to help in a big international push to help resolve the dispute over the 21-year division of Cyprus. Spring acknowledged the Cyprus and Northern Ireland problems were different when he spoke to reporters shortly after his arrival late Tuesday. Spring said people in many countries were now resolving their differences and making peace with their historical enemies. rp/ew AFP /AA1234/100839 GMT JAN 96

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