Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, reiterated on Tuesday his will and determination to engage in a constructive dialogue for a settlement of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the UN resolutions and the EU acquis, stressing that the position for two separate states in Cyprus is unacceptable.
Anastasiades remarks were made in the framework of statements he delivered to the media along with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, after the conclusion of the Trilateral Summit among Greece Cyprus and Egypt that took place in Athens.
The President of Cyprus noted that “the position for two separate states is unacceptable,” noting that during the Trilateral Summit he briefed his counterparts about the results of the recent meeting he had in New York with the UNSG, Antonio Guterres, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar.
Anastasiades said that during the meeting the Turkish Cypriot side reiterated the position that dialogue will not resume if sovereign equality is not recognised for the puppet regime in Cyprus` Turkish occupied areas. Moreover, the President said that the UNSG`s proposal for the appointment of a special envoy who would have the responsibility to create the appropriate conditions for the resumption of the talks has not implemented and as a result “we are now at a deadlock.”
Anastasiades underlined that the basis for a Cyprus settlement is determined by the UN resolutions, the high level agreements and the EU acquis, and reiterated that the aim is to establish a European state that will respect the human rights of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
Referring to the joint diplomatic initiatives of Greece and Cyprus and to the support of both Greece and Egypt to efforts for a Cyprus settlement, Anastasiades noted that the aim is still to achieve by diplomatic means to have dialogue with Turkey.
“Turkey must realise that it is in her interest to solve the Cyprus problem on the basis of principles and not on the basis of a revisionist expansive policy,” he added.
He noted that unfortunately Turkey follows a revisionist and expansive policy and as a result constitutes a troublemaker in the region.
He referred to Turkey`s violations in the Cypriot EEZ, to the violation of the status of the fenced off part of the Turkish occupied city of Famagusta known as Varosha and the illegal allocation of Greek Cypriot land to Turkey to establish a military air base for drones or for the construction of a military port in Bogazi area.
Referring to the significance of the trilateral scheme of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, Anastasiades noted that this cooperation makes the three countries a pillar of stability and peace in the region. He underlined that no country, including Turkey, is excluded from the trilateral schemes that Cyprus and Greece are establishing in the region, as long as it respects the international law and the other states`s sovereignty.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island`s northern third. Numerous rounds of talks under the UN aegis to reunite the island under a federal roof failed to yield results.
