The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades told his compatriots living in the UK that his goal regarding the Cyprus issue talks is to “keep the hope alive and to create the conditions for the dialogue to carry on, but on a solid basis.”
Nicos Anastasiades was addressing an event in north London on Sunday night organised by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK in his customary stopover in the British capital while on his way to the UN General Assembly.
He said that he is travelling to New York “determined” to convey to the UN Secretary-General his commitment and will to continue working towards a settlement.
“The parameters set by the Secretary-General are there. Everyone who is interested in the benefit of Cyprus, and I am referring to the foreign powers, must at last direct their efforts towards the power that violates the first rule that the Secretary-General has put forward; namely, that without an agreement on the security issue there can be no settlement of the Cyprus issue and that one party’s security cannot be a threat to the other party,” said President Anastasiades.
He added that despite the best efforts of the Greek Cypriot side in Crans Montana within the specific conditions that had been set, “Turkey remained completely intransigent, although for a moment it created a deception for the Secretary-General.”
He elaborated by saying that Ankara wanted to maintain the guarantor rights which would be reviewed and not terminated in the future, as well as keeping a 1,800-strong military force on the island with a military base.
“As long as Turkey keeps being obsessed with controlling Cyprus, our opposition will be even stronger,” commented the President.
As far as his intention to engage in new talks is concerned, he said he is “ready”, noting however that there needs to “at last” be a preparation of a dialogue and not of a mere dinner. “Turkeys intention is not a matter to be solved over a dinner. You can’t expect to have results in one night. It’s like inviting friends over for dinner and not having made sure you’ve cooked, but instead waiting until the last minute to see what each one wants to eat. The result is that you come up with a Babel and everyone stays unfed. The one that invited everyone to dinner did not make the preparation so that the parties attending could have a common denominator,” said Mr Anastasiades.
He also said that he does not accept anyone outside Cyprus doubting his determination to resolve the Cyprus issue and that there can be compromises with the Turkish Cypriots as long as Cypriots know they would be the ones making the decisions over their future. “We want to live in a functional and normal country, with no guarantors,” he added.
In a packed room of UK Cypriots President Anastasiades thanked and congratulated the diaspora in Britain for its support and its unity, and made special reference to the notable presence of young UK Cypriots.
In his introduction, the President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK Christos Karaolis expressed the community’s gratitude to the President of the Republic for his continued and enhanced support to the UK Cypriot community and the National Federation, which has been bolstered with the appointment of the Commissioner to the Presidency for Humanitarian Affairs & Overseas Cypriots Photis Photiou.
Karaolis said that the failure to reach a settlement was down to Turkey’s continuing intransigence and referring to the role of the UK and the Federation he added: “As UK citizens we know the UK’s important role and its policy of equal distance. But we, united, make good use of our contacts and partnerships, we promote the rights of the Cypriot people and defend the interests of the Republic of Cyprus.
“With the help of our tireless High Commissioner and our parliamentarian friends we keep demanding that the UK Government fulfills its obligations towards Cyprus as guarantor power of the independence, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of our country, that it works towards ending the Turkish occupation and it contributes in a settlement based on the resolutions of the UN and the EU and the international law.”