President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday that everyone involved, and particularly Turkey, must realise that wishes are not enough for the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Replying to questions by journalists, in the framework of his visit to a military camp, ahead of the Orthodox Easter, and invited to say whether he believes that 2016 will be the year of a Cyprus settlement, Anastasiades said that “if there is a decisive change of the rhetoric to a real support of the solution we are pursuing, a solution that will respond to the expectations and concerns of both communities, then there is a prospect.”
He added that everyone involved, and particularly Turkey, must realise that wishes are not enough, adding that for 42 years now we have been listening to the same declarations.
Anastasiades expressed hope that developments concerning the energy sector, Turkey`s aspirations regarding its European orientation or to turn into an energy hub, as well as other motives, will contribute to the encouragement of the Turkish Cypriot leader “so that we will be able to reach a solution accepted by everyone”.
Asked if the issue of visas and more generally the EU-Turkey relations can affect the negotiations, President Anastasiades said he did not see how this issue could affect the negotiations. “It is purely an issue of responding to the preconditions which the EU sets out, so that there is visa liberalisation,” he added.
Invited to comment on a reference by the European Commission that chapters will not open for Turkey without a Cyprus settlement, President Anastasiades said that this position “is fully compatible with our positions, and so we cannot do anything else but welcome it.”
Furthermore, he recalled that President of the European Council Donald Tusk was one of those who firmly and earnestly supported this position. “I am saying this because there were some statements criticising some statements made on purpose, I would say, in Turkey,” he added.
Asked if interests in the region and reactions at the European level are so strong that they could subvert Turkish intransigence, Anastasiades said, “I believe so, because it is to the benefit of everyone, the international and the regional community, including Turkey.”
He added that everyone will win from a Cyprus settlement, as long as it is viable, functional, lasting and fair to all.
