President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has sent the message that if Turkey continued to violate Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the response by the Republic of Cyprus would be the withdrawal from the negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem.
In an interview with weekly newspaper “Kathimerini”, he referred to the beginning of the negotiations, developments on the issue of energy in connection with the international environment, and the course of the economy.
President Anastasiades expressed his belief that there are good chances to solve the Cyprus problem because of the discovery of natural gas, but he stressed that he will walk away from the negotiating table if Turkey continues violating Cyprus’ EZZ.
He said that the discovery of natural gas in Cyprus’ EEZ also prompted the USA to take a more active role in promoting a settlement of the Cyprus problem.
The USA’s interest “creates a new dynamic, especially if the quantities are such that they replace existing monopolies and the political dependencies they create,” Anastasiades said.
On the economy, President Anastasiades said that the adherence to the Memorandum signed between the Republic and the Troika brought positive results which were recorded by the positive comments and the third assessment made by the international lenders, by the upgrading of the Cypriot economy by Standard & Poor`s, and by the decline of the Cypriot bonds from 15% in March to 7.3%.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Past efforts to reunify the island have so far failed. A new round of talks resumed earlier this month, following an agreement on a joint declaration between the leaders of the two communities.