Only the resumption of negotiations will demonstrate who genuinely has the political will to resolve the Cyprus problem, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday.
The President was speaking on the sidelines of the annual memorial service for Giannis Styllis and Nikos Karantonis, two fallen members of the Trikomo community, held at the Church of Agios Neophytos in Kato Polemidia.
Asked why Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman had not made any statements during Saturday’s Bicommunal Peace Festival in Pyla, President Christodoulides said he was unaware of the reasons.
“I cannot know why the Turkish Cypriot leader did not make any statements. He did not mention anything to me during the event, but I cannot know his reasons, and I do not believe I said anything that would justify any annoyance,” he noted.
Responding to a journalist’s suggestion that Erhürman may have been displeased by his remarks directed at Ankara, the President clarified that his statements were not intended as criticism.
“They were not insinuations. It was a clear statement that the key to resolving the Cyprus problem lies in Turkey. I made that point explicitly, without disregarding the role that we in Cyprus can play,” he said.
Erhürman’s interview described as revealing
Asked about the Turkish Cypriot leader’s interview with Politis, in which Erhürman called on the President to clarify whether he accepts a rotating presidency as part of discussions on reunification, Christodoulides described the interview as particularly revealing.
“It is clear that the Turkish side is setting terms and conditions for the resumption of talks, and I have already informed the National Council about this aspect,” he said.
He explained that these conditions involve the Greek Cypriot side accepting in advance specific positions of importance to the Turkish Cypriot community, without any corresponding willingness to discuss or accept Greek Cypriot positions on other significant aspects of the Cyprus problem.
“This is precisely why I have repeatedly stated that all these matters should be discussed at the negotiating table. Setting terms and conditions before negotiations resume is, in my view, a tactic that does not help bring about developments,” he stressed.
“That is why I consider the Turkish Cypriot leader’s interview particularly revealing, because it demonstrates one of the main reasons why talks have not yet resumed,” he added.
President clarifies his 19 proposals
Responding to Erhürman’s claim that he had not received a document containing the President’s 19 proposals on the Cyprus problem, Christodoulides clarified that the proposals had been communicated verbally.
“I never said that the proposals were submitted in writing. They were presented orally. He is aware of the 19 very specific proposals. He has responded to some of them, while he has not yet expressed a position on others,” the President stated.
He added that the National Council was fully informed about the proposals and that the matter had been discussed again on Saturday evening.
“The 19 proposals are very well known to the National Council, and I repeat that we discussed this again last night, because the specific interview was also discussed. He told me that these matters had been conveyed to him orally and had not been provided in writing,” he said.
Christodoulides emphasised that he did not wish to engage in a blame game.
“I do not want to become involved in a game of assigning blame. That is not why I am here, nor do I believe it helps in any way with efforts to resume negotiations,” he said.
The President also confirmed that the fenced-off area of Varosha was among the issues raised in his proposals.
“I can publicly confirm that the issue of the fenced-off city of Varosha is among the matters we have specifically raised. It is also among the issues I discussed in detail with the UN Secretary-General recently in New York and is included in the letter I sent to him,” he stated.
He declined to elaborate further, noting that additional statements would depend on developments.
“I genuinely believe that only the resumption of negotiations will demonstrate in practice who truly has the will to resolve the Cyprus problem. And I am referring to everyone, not just the two communities, but also the guarantor powers and Turkey’s role,” he stressed.
Peace festival aimed to promote reunification
Asked whether anything negative concerning the Cyprus problem had been discussed during Saturday evening’s gathering in Pyla, the President replied that nothing of the sort had occurred, describing the occasion as a social meeting.
“We were there to send a message of hope, a message about the need to work together to reunify our homeland,” he said.
He stressed that such meetings remain important, although they cannot replace formal negotiations.
“These kinds of meetings are important, as I also said yesterday when asked by your colleagues. They are not sufficient to achieve our desired objective, but they certainly have their own added value,” he noted.
Resuming talks from Crans-Montana
Asked about the Turkish side’s position that negotiations should not be open-ended, President Christodoulides said the duration of any future process would depend on its starting point.
“Everything depends on where we begin. If we resume from where we left off in Crans-Montana, we know very well which issues remain unresolved and which matters need to be discussed. Naturally, the time required would be considerably shorter,” he explained.
“However, if someone seeks to start the process from the beginning, nobody can determine how long it will take,” the President concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency (CNA)
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