There is a common approach and goals with Greece, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, referring to the visit of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Cyprus on Monday, indicating that one of the main topics on the agenda will be Euro-Turkish relations given that progress in the issue also goes through Cypriot-Turkish and Greek-Turkish relations.
In his statement on Sunday at Throni of Panagia Kykkou, after the end of a memorial service of the first President of the Republic, Arch. Makarios, President Christodoulides emphasised that those who are anxiously trying to find differences between Athens and Nicosia will be disappointed because, as he said, “there is a common line, common approach, common goals” since “after all, the challenges are common.”
In response to a journalist’s remark that his visit with the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar to the Anthropological Laboratory of the Committee of Missing Persons took place in a friendly atmosphere and asked regarding his proposal for a tripartite meeting with the UN Secretary General in New York, the President of the Republic said that he had proposed to the Turkish leader to request this meeting together and that his reaction was positive, saying that such meetings always take place.
“He (Tatar) has no objection to such a meeting,”he noted, adding that “of course what we are interested in is a result. So, we are working to make the appropriate preliminary work, so that there will be a result.”
He also said that he repeated to Tatar his invitation for a social dinner, and that the Turkish Cypriot leader told him that he did not know if he would be in Cyprus, but “it was not something he ruled out.”
“What I can say is that I am ready, and that is why I consider the meeting with the UN Secretary-General to be decisive for the next steps in relation to the Euro-Turkish issues as well, because I should remind you that the European Council has essentially decided that in October, Euro-Turkish issues will be discussed,” he pointed out, adding that in the next few weeks there will be many bilateral meetings where the Cyprus issue will also be discussed and hopefully there will be developments that will allow us to have developments in the Euro-Turkish issues.
Replying to a journalist’s remark that he is strongly criticised by some that while there is a barrage of provocative Turkish statements he remains silent, the President of the Republic said that this “is valid” and that he consciously chooses not to answer because he is not interested in the communication management of the Cyprus issue.
“The Cyprus problem will not be solved through public statements or if I enter into a daily confrontation with Tatar. You saw that during the visit (to the CMP) I consciously chose not to respond to what he had said”, he stressed.
He also added that he and Tatar had a short, private discussion, during their joint visit at CMP, where Tatar “mentioned some things to me,” adding however that he did not wish to make them public. He noted that what he told him in response was “we will see all this at the negotiating table.”
“If we don’t talk, if the talks don’t resume then we can’t see in practice whether all that is being said is true,” he stressed, adding that the second thing he told Tatar is that “as things stand today, the only ones who definitely stand to lose are the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots”.
When asked what the effort of European partners in relation to Turkey includes, President Christodoulides said that “these are countries that maintain a special relationship with Turkey due to many factors, economic interests, military interests, the need for Turkey to become again closer to the West. We see what (Turkey’s) stance is on the Ukrainian issue, we see the excellent relations it has with Russia and in this context some EU states whose leaders have already met with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, are working so that there are developments in the Cyprus issue that will open the door for positive developments in the Euro-Turkish affairs,” he said.
Replying to a journalist’s remark that the Committee of Occupied Municipalities has asked the government, during the meeting of its delegation with the President, to take measures to put an end to the sale of Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish occupied areas and what the government intends to do about it, President Christodoulides said that “already, before the meeting with the Union of Occupied Municipalities, both in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the Legal Service and the Ministry of the Interior, specific decisions were taken that will be announced very soon.”
Asked about reports to do with the possibility of a visit to the Turkish occupied areas by members of the American Congress and whether it would send the wrong message, the President of the Republic said that he considers the matter to be particularly important. “The visit is condemnable, that is not under discussion, I think we all agree on that,” he said.
He noted the discomfort of the American government itself and the American Embassy in Cyprus who, in cooperation with the Cypriot government, but also with the Cypriot Diaspora, did everything possible to prevent such a visit from taking place.
As CyBC reported earlier today, responding to a question about the upcoming visit of Republican Congressman Pete Sessions to the Turkish occupied areas, a representative of the US Department of State clarified that the State Department has not funded this visit and that it is an unofficial trip.
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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency