Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, has said that he is proceeding to his meeting on Wednesday with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, with a single objective, to achieve results, either confidence-building measures or other results serving solely that goal of resolving the Cyprus issue on the basis of the agreed framework, the principles and values of the European Union.
In statements to the media, on the sidelines of events held in Nicosia to mark the April 1, 1955 anniversary, when EOKA organization began its anti-colonial struggle against the British, and asked about his meeting on Wednesday with the Turkish Cypriot leader and the position expressed by the Turkish Cypriot side that there would not be any confidence building measures, the President said he had heard these statements, adding that similar statements were made before the Geneva informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format.
He added that in Geneva “and I will mention this tomorrow, there was, I think, a catalytic intervention by European Union a few hours before the meeting started.” He said that this clarifies the framework of the Cyprus settlement, adding that the Republic of Cyprus is a Member State of the European Union and will continue to be so after a possible solution to the Cyprus problem. “The European Union has all the necessary tools to help us, if there is really political will, if Turkey, for example really wants to see progress in the Euro-Turkish issues, to reach the much desired goal”, he added.
“This will be the best commemoration because, I repeat, 70 years after (the EOKA struggle) we have not fulfilled our obligations towards all these heroes who sacrificed their lives so that we could live in freedom today,” President Christodoulides said.
Asked if there is a specific agenda of his meeting with Ersin Tatar, President said that the parties have undertaken certain obligations towards the UN Secretary General.
“Let me remind you that the outcome of Geneva was a discussion to see if some confidence building measures can move forward, the appointment of a personal envoy, an issue that as I have been informed by the United Nations is at the administrative stage, possibly this week we will have announcements, and the next is the meeting at the end of July in Geneva,” he noted.
“So, taking into account these three facts, tomorrow we will certainly discuss possible confidence-building measures in the areas that were agreed and about which we made a commitment to the Secretary-General, but at the same time, the big goal is at the end of July, the next meeting, which we hope – and we will do so – will lead to the resumption of the talks, always on the basis of the agreed framework. So even the confidence-building measures that will be discussed tomorrow should exclusively serve this objective, the resumption of talks on the basis of the agreed framework”, he added.
Referring to the 1st April anniversary, the President of the Republic said that “we are rightfully proud of the EOKA struggle, we are proud of the EOKA fighters, it is the reason why we exist today, it is the reason why the most important thing we have, the Republic of Cyprus, exists.”
“The events, the commemoration, our presence here today is the least we have to do. But the real honour will only come through the liberation of our country. And I said earlier that the most important achievement of this struggle is the existence of the Republic of Cyprus, and we are doing everything possible, with actions and not with words, to reinforce the existence of the Republic of Cyprus and at the same time to strengthen the country, both abroad and domestically,” he noted.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary General announced that an informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format will be held at the end of July, following a similar meeting in Geneva, on March 17-18. Antonio Guterres also announced that he will appoint a new personal envoy on Cyprus to prepare the next steps, while the two sides agreed to proceed with a number of initiatives, involving the opening of crossing points, the creation of a Technical Committee on Youth and other initiatives in the buffer zone and throughout the island.
