Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, said on Wednesday evening that “we will never accept the choice of surrendering”, noting that “our goal remains for Cyprus to evolve into a ‘normal state’ as the UN Secretary – General has described it, that is to evolve into a truly independent and sovereign state with no dependencies on third parties, a modern state which will truly give the prospect of peaceful co-existence in a secure and stable environment for all of the legal residents of the island.”
In his address at an event at the Presidential Palace, to mark the 48th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, that was read out by Finance Minister, Constantinos Petrides, the President said that he is at peace with his conscience that he did everything humanly possible not only to find a settlement to the Cyprus problem, but also to prevent the collapse of the 2017 talks in Crans Montana.
President Anastasiades said that he hoped that the further active involvement of high ranking officials from the UN Secretariat and the contacts with the parties involved “will enable the Secretary General to activate the process for discussing the bold Confidence Building Measures that we have submitted, but also to resume a fresh dialogue on an equal footing, away from extortion, threats and absurd demands.”
He noted that he has repeatedly underlined to the UN Secretary General, our EU partners, the permanent and non permanent members of the Security Council and to the international community in general that our will for the resumption of the dialogue is there, with the same determination and good will that we have shown until now to all efforts that have taken place for the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
Anastasiades added that what is needed is to create conditions which will allow to have a dialogue on the basis of mutual respect and the required good will by the interested parties, and particularly by the Turkish side, with a view to secure a positive outcome of the negotiations.
He went on to say that such conditions cannot be achieved through threats, efforts to change the crystal clear status of the fenced off city of Famagusta, as determined by the relevant UN resolutions, by questioning the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its EEZ, or through prerequisites set out as the recognition of sovereign equality or a two state solution.
Referring to the Turkish Cypriots, he called on them to consider that only through a solution they will be able to get rid of any dependencies and promote their own identity and potentials.
He stressed that they must realize that any solution must be based on mutual respect to the rights and legitimate concerns of the two communties, since what we are trying to consolidate are not relations between two neighbouring states, but a state comprising two constituent states, with a central government, a single sovereignty and a single international representation.
The President said that for 48 years we have been experiencing an absurdity, adding that unfortunately despite the arduous efforts which he himself and his predecessors have made Turkey continues to show for almost five decades the same intransigent and unacceptable stance, alleging that its demand for a permanent presence of Turkish troops and guarantor rights is supposedly due to the fact that Turkish Cypriots feel insecure.
Anastasiades said that this demand must be considered along with the intentional misinterpration of the political equality concept through the demand that for every decision by an institution, regardless whether it concerns the vital rights of one or the other community, there should be at least one positive vote.
“Just think how functional or viable a settlement can be considered when all of the decisions of the federal state will depend exclusively on the members of one community, the one with the smaller population, which due to the military presence of Turkey will be under its full control,” he added.
Moreover, he said that the Turkish side ignores and disregards the fact that the Greek Cypriot community, has accepted, through a painful compromise, the bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, while at the same time it shows contempt for the European acquis and the international law principles.
Anastasiades elaborated on what happened during the Conference on Cyprus that took place in Crans Montana, in the summer of 2017, noting that the reason of its failure was not his withdrawal from the negotiating table but the unbending and intransigent stance shown by Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
He expressed the belief that if the Conference was not wrapped up, due to the insistence and the refusal of the Turkish FM to show any flexibility, but was suspended for some days or weeks, then things might have been different.
The UN and the EU would have had the opportunity to hold new negotiations and make interventions towards Turkey with a view to achieve a strategic agreement, he added.
Anastasiades said that despite the concessions and the painful compromises which the Greek Cypriot side has made, Turkey’s insistence to unacceptable conditions which are not proper for modern states has led to the derailing of every negotiating process.
The President said that the long standing goal of the Turkish side is to avoid finding a settlement so that they will be able to promote their position in favour of two states, and to continue to usurp properties, violate human rights, continue the illegal settling and the permament presence of Turkish troops on the island.
Anastasiades stressed the need for unity among the political parties and the whole people of Cyprus, noting that only through this we can bring about “peace, security and independence which we have been pursuing for so many years.”
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency