The Greek Cypriot negotiator, ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis has said that the UN-led talks aimed at solving the Cyprus problem have resumed under much better conditions than in previous times.
Mavroyiannis briefed Thursday foreign delegations participating in an international conference held by the main opposition party AKEL on the developments in the Cyprus problem.
The negotiator noted that the choice of Mustafa Akinci as the leader of the Turkish Cypriots “was the strongest possible reaction by the Turkish Cypriot community in the face of losing their identity”.
Today the Turkish Cypriots want the reunification and the European perspective as much as the Greek Cypriots do, he said.
“With the election of Akinci we were able to resume the process under much better conditions” and “there is now a very good environment”, Mavroyiannis said, noting however that not all the issues have been solved and that “we are just in the beginning”.
We believe that we have in place the most fundamental requirements to move towards a settlement and we are determined to do our utmost to seize this window of opportunity, he said, adding that without doing anything that will put the process in jeopardy we want to work very hard and we trust that the other side has a similar political will to negotiate seriously and eventually put an end to the occupation.
The Greek Cypriot negotiator said that although Akinci`s election had created new hopes, the clash between him and Turkish President Erdogan, immediately after his election, reminded everybody that the key of the settlement lies with Ankara.
Akinci came back from Ankara more encouraged than discouraged, but there are issues that are one hundred percent in the hands of Turkey, such as the presence or withdrawal of the Turkish forces, the problem of the settlers, the system of security and guarantees and the problem of the territory, he stressed.
“The message we are receiving from Ankara is that they are willing to fully play their part” said Mavroyiannis.
He also noted that the elections in Turkey on Sunday are a source of concern “because we do not have the tools to interpret the results”.
A new round of UN-backed talks with the aim to reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion, resumed last month.