Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has made it clear that he will never put before the people a settlement plan which will once again be rejected, as it happened in 2004 with the rejection of the Annan Plan by the majority of Greek Cypriots.
Speaking during a ceremony for the unveiling of a monument in honor of the people of Kerynia who lost their lives during the Turkish 1974 military invasion of Cyprus, and for the people who are still missing as a result of the invasion, President Anastasiades stressed that there can be no honest compromise without the acceptance and respect of the European acquis.
President Anastasiades referred to the efforts for a Cyprus settlement, and said that it is obvious that there are convergences and differences between the two sides’ positons on various topics, adding that nobody hides this.
“But it is equally obvious that we agree that we have to negotiate to create a country which will be governed in a way that its citizens will have the final say through a functional, viable and federal solution,” he added.
We seek to ensure, he noted, the right of all Cypriot citizens to choose to live and work wherever they want in a state that will safeguard their rights in the agreed framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
We are seeking an honorable solution that will lead to a functional governance system with European characteristics, he noted, adding that “our participation in the European Union and our daily experience from our presence in European institutions create the conditions for the implementation of a real reunification of the island as well as its institutions and people.”
Our accession to the European Union is a privilege for our country which we have to safeguard for all the citizens of the island, he noted .
President Anastasiades said that “we get the message from many of our foreign interlocutors that Turkey has adopted a positive attitude on the Cyprus issue,” adding that “we still expect that Turkey will take some practical measures.”
We once again call on Turkey to demonstrate its good will, he noted, adding that this is something that will be seen at the negotiating table. We will be there ready, creative and with confidence, because we know what we are seeking and how we can achieve it, he added.
He also expressed the need for consensus and unity in the domestic front and assured that he will do his utmost to reunify the island, terminate occupation, and turn the country into a modern European state that can last over time, can function and create the necessary conditions “so that, in peace ,we can co-create with our Turkish Cypriot compatriots with no guarantors and guarantees.”
What we are trying to secure is the four fundamental freedoms and the human rights of all people, the right to free movement, free settlement, the right to employment the right in general of each citizen of a European country to move freely without restrictions, he stressed.
“The solution will be a compromise, a painful compromise, but at least this compromise should be honest and there can be no honest compromise without the acceptance and respect of the acquis communautaire,” he noted
To this end, I will never accept to put before the people any plan which in my view will lead to a new rejection by the people. He reiterated that “progress has been achieved, but there are still problems and distance to cover.”