“We are ready for the second meeting between the two leaders to take place as early as tomorrow,” said Government Spokesperson Mr. Konstantinos Letymbiotis today.
Asked to clarify President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides’ comment yesterday regarding “all or nothing” in relation to the proposal he submitted during his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader, the Spokesperson explained: “This approach of grouping the acceptance of the set of proposals submitted by the President refers mainly to the issue of crossing points.
All the proposals submitted yesterday must include the aspect of reciprocity, which is fundamental to achieving meaningful progress.”
Proposals submitted
During yesterday’s meeting, a set of eight specific proposals was presented and discussed by President Christodoulides. These proposals will be evaluated by the Turkish Cypriot side, and a second meeting is awaited to discuss them further.
When asked what would happen if the Turkish Cypriot side accepts only some points from the President’s proposal, the Spokesperson noted: “All points and every positive development in this discussion must encompass the element of reciprocity. The four points concerning the crossing points must be accepted as a whole because this ensures reciprocity. The other four points, which include proposals for a Technical Committee on Youth and the implementation of the Pyla agreement, inherently ensure reciprocity.
We anticipate that after the Turkish Cypriot side evaluates the proposals, they will attend the next meeting with specific positions, which we will evaluate with the same constructive stance. However, the grouping primarily refers to the four points concerning crossing points. There are four points related to crossing points and another four regarding other proposals submitted by the President of the Republic, such as the establishment of a Technical Committee on Youth, a previously discussed idea, and the implementation of the Pyla agreement reached last summer but not yet executed.”
Details on crossing points
When asked whether the crossing points include one crossing point and three passages, the Spokesperson clarified: “The practical arrangements for these four points will be discussed in the second meeting.”
He added: “It is well-known that we submitted two proposals for Athienou-Pyroi and the Kokkina crossing point, as well as for Mia Milia and a point to serve the Louroujina community.”
Comments on the Turkish Cypriot leader’s statements
Commenting on remarks made by the Turkish Cypriot leader yesterday, the Spokesperson said: “We intentionally state that such discussions cannot be conducted publicly, nor would it be beneficial for them to be publicised.”
He continued: “Yesterday, we submitted our thoughts in a very specific manner. There was a preparatory phase at the negotiators’ level where our ideas had also been submitted. Some aspects of these proposals were also discussed at the level of the UN Secretary-General during the dinner on 15 October. As Mr. Tatar said yesterday, we expect the proposals to be evaluated and studied, and the second meeting to take place as soon as possible. We are ready, even tomorrow, if it becomes feasible, for the meeting to happen.”
