Anastasiades: I wouldn’t have submitted my proposal, if I were interested in the presidential elections
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday that if he were interested in February’s presidential elections, he would not have submitted his recent proposal in the framework of the UN-led negotiations with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, to solve the Cyprus problem.
“I would have preferred to continue the dialogue and carry on in politics the way some accuse me of doing,” he noted, and added: “I mean it when I say that I want a solution through a substantive dialogue, and I believe that through the proposal I have submitted, which is not mine, but a joint proposal with Mr. Akinci, we can achieve results”, in the sense that the proposal is completely consistent with what was jointly agreed on 12 January in Geneva and on 1 February in Cyprus.
Anastasiades told a televised press conference on Monday evening that he proposed to go immediately to Geneva, convene a Conference on Cyprus for the completion and conclusion of the discussion on the Chapter of Security and Guarantees, then proceed immediately to the discussion and resolution of the property issue, if and when there is a conclusion, and then stay in Geneva for as long as necessary and hold a continuous summit of the leaders, in order to achieve not just substantive progress, but even the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem as well.
Fending off criticism against his proposal and allegations that it leads to a deadlock, the President said that all those who say that it sets out prerequisites or preconditions for further progress would have been right if the proposal had been put forward at the beginning of the negotiations.
The President noted that for the past two years he and Akinci have been discussing issues which were part of discussions in the past 42 years.
He added that what he has proposed concerns the substance of the Cyprus problem and was agreed with the Turkish Cypriot leader and the participation of Turkey in Geneva, namely that the chapter of security must be discussed during a multi-lateral Conference on Cyprus.
That was decided for the first time on December 1st last year, it was reiterated at the UN press release on January 12 and in Cyprus through a joint call by the two leaders to the UNSG for an interim Conference at the ministerial level to prepare the final Conference, he noted.
Anastasiades said that the intention of those who had claimed to be “a step ahead of us” should be put to the test.
Asked what he expects from the UN Secretary General Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide`s forthcoming meetings, he noted that he cannot predict what Eide has in mind, adding that if Eide tries to find a formula, there will be hope and prospects for progress if this formula is within the framework of his proposal.
Anastasiades also said that for the time being it is not scheduled for him to have a new meeting in Cyprus with the Turkish Cypriot leader. He added that he would not refuse to make fresh efforts in Cyprus with a view to achieve more convergences, before going to Geneva.
He noted however that since they decided to go to Mont Pelerin to discuss the territorial issue and then to Geneva, no remarkable steps have been made in the intercommunal dialogue in Cyprus.
He added that the dialogue on the four chapters is stagnant, noting that this is why a Conference in Geneva must aim not only to achieve progress but even to reach a settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. President Anastasiades and Akinci have been engaged in UN-led talks since May 2015 with an aim to reunify the island under a federal roof.
CNA – CYPRUS/Nicosia 23/05/2017 17:23