Nicosia has already raised before the UN and the EU the issue of the illegal construction of houses in the occupied area of Deryneia, Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday. Moreover he noted that the only thing achieved through the creation of a new fait accompli is to move further away from the objective of a Cyprus settlement. Before attending a lunch with EU member states Ambassadors in Cyprus, hosted by the Ambassador of Sweden, on the occasion of the conclusion of the Swedish EU Presidency at the end of the month, the President was invited to comment on plans by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot puppet regime to illegally construct 1200 social housing units in Deryneia area. Christodoulides said that "we have already raised the issue both before the UN and the EU. We are taking every action needed within the diplomatic framework, with a view to avert such a development," he added. He reiterated the need "to proceed with the resumption of the talks the soonest possible, to achieve a Cyprus settlement," underlining that "only this will prevent a new fait accompli." Christodoulides said that "the only thing achieved through the creation of a new fait accompli is to move further away from the objective of a Cyprus settlement." It is for this reason, he added, "that since the first day we took office we are working towards this direction. And I hope to have results soon." Asked if the Cyprus problem was one of the issues discussed during the contacts which foreign leaders and EU officials had with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Christodoulides said that they have been informed that the Cyprus problem was one of the basic issues discussed. Invited to say if the Cyprus problem was discussed during the meeting the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the UNSG, Antonio Guterres, had on Wednesday in Paris, the President said he had no information about this. 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