Greek FM: a just solution means eliminating occupation troops & system of guarantees
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Above all a just solution of the Cyprus problem means eliminating the causes behind it that is to say the occupation and the presence of occupying troops and the existence of a system of guarantees which has been blatantly violated, a solution which will be just, not precarious, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias stressed speaking to journalists, in Geneva, on Friday.
Kotzias underlined that in the Geneva Conference on Cyprus, on Thursday, an effort for the Conference to fail was prevented and noted that on the basis of the consensus for an open ended process it was agreed that the process will continue in the form of talks between experts and more specifically, on behalf of the Greek Foreign Ministry, with a delegation under the Ministry`s Permanent Secretary.
The negotiation process will be convened again next week and when conditions mature it will take the form of a ministerial meeting with the participation of other representatives, he said expressing his satisfaction over the fact that for the fist time in the history of the Cyprus problem, in the last decades, the matter of the guarantees and security has been put on the table clearly and constitutes a specific matter of discussion.
Asked to comment on a statement made by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Greece avoids a solution of the Cyprus problem Kotzias said that today, Friday, the Turkish delegation has left from Geneva, noting that it had other and more important things to do, such as the Syrian problem and the constitutional reform and that it wished to have a non organised discussion at between the experts.
“The ones who scurried, are the ones who have left. We are still here,” he said.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been engaged in UN-led talks since May 2015 with a view to reunify the island under a federal roof.
The two leaders and their respective delegations were in Geneva this week, discussing between January 9 and 11 the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem. A Conference on Cyprus commenced on Thursday, January 12, focusing on the issue of security and guarantees. The Foreign Ministers of the three guarantor powers of the Republic of Cyprus – Greece, Turkey and Britain – were also present, in addition to the EU as an observer/interested party.
CNA – Greece/ATHENS 13/01/2017 19:50