There is no other way forward but that of the resumption of Cyprus talks on the basis of the proposals submitted by UN Secretary General’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, while Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides stressed that the Greek Cypriot side is fully prepared to engage in meaningful negotiations to reach a viable and functional solution of the Cyprus problem.
They were both addressing an event on Saturday evening to mark the 50th anniversary since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus held at the Presidential Palace.
President Christodoulides also made it clear that no one should expect that “we will engage in a false and moribund settlement that would amount to two states or that would not work or that would not allow all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus to enjoy basic human rights.”
On his part, Mitsotakis said that Greece and Cyprus “do not accept faits accomplis” and that their pursuit remains a Republic of Cyprus with one sovereignty, o
ne international personality and one citizenship, in a bizonal, bicommunal federation, in a unitary state where all citizens will be both Cypriots and Europeans, without foreign occupation armies, without anachronistic guarantees, exactly as the UN resolutions and the respect for the European acquis stipulate, adding that in this perspective the two poles of Hellenism are more united than ever.
In his speech, the President of the Republic said that his sustainable, durable and feasible vision is to achieve a viable and workable solution that will truly reunite the land and the people and urged everyone to aim “together united in this success and let us not look for winners and losers.” As long as there is occupation, he noted, “as long as there is no solution, we are all losers, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots”.
He also spoke of the “historic presence” of Greek Prime Minister at the event, and thanked him not only for his presence, but also for “the substantial and effective cooperation between us, whic
h is characterised, possibly for the first time to such an extent, by absolute honesty, realism and mutual respect”.
The President of the Republic said that “under the burden of the catastrophe of 1974, the greatest tragedy of Hellenism since 1922, the small and beleaguered Cyprus, with the support of Greece, accepted the solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, the principles and values of the European Union and the acquis communautaire”.
It was, he said, “a historic compromise, which to this day defines the policy of the Republic of Cyprus and Greece and the international community as a whole for the resolution of the Cyprus problem”.
Since 1974, he added, “Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership, controlled and guided by Ankara, have unfortunately not shown the necessary will and readiness for an honourable compromise that would lead to the achievement of the longed-for solution”.
Instead, he said, “they have ste
adfastly and intransigently insisted on logics of direct or indirect recognition of the invasion’s fait accompli and the ongoing occupation, most recently the position of sovereign equality and the two-state solution”.
‘I reiterate emphatically today that the Greek Cypriot side remains committed to the form of solution agreed in the framework of the United Nations and is fully prepared to engage in meaningful negotiations to achieve a viable and functional solution’, he said, adding that ‘I firmly believe that within the framework of the talks, at the negotiating table, we can achieve the much-needed reunification”.
President Christodoulides also said that the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state and will continue to be one after a possible solution, adding that the Union has the tools and the answers to all the difficult negotiations issues.
At the same time, however, he said, ‘I wish to make it clear in every direction that there are limits to the concessions and compromise we can accept. As I said b
efore, the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state and no one should expect us to join in a false and moribund settlement that would amount to two states or that would not work or that would not allow all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus to enjoy basic human rights’.
He also noted that “we neither define nor can we change geography, neither can we change it, nor can we change the power factors of third parties. But we can and must continue to strive, using and strengthening the tools at our disposal, to help shape the conditions through which Cyprus as a whole, reunited, will become a place of stability, security, prosperity and real peace.’
In his speech, the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Athens and Nicosia reject the obsolete doctrine that immobility produces movement. ‘Nor do we accept the fatalistic conclusion that each new year will be the same or worse than the previous one,” he noted, adding that “double standards are not allowed in the application of international law.’
He stressed that “there is no other way than the one also shared by the UN Secretary General, as I found out in our last meeting a few days ago. That is the path of restarting the talks on the basis of the proposals to be put forward by Special Envoy Maria Angela Holguin.”
“Athens and Nicosia must take a pragmatic view of the situation today. Both countries belong to the Western world and they share its values as a compass. We are aware of the difficulties that the national efforts often encounter, we know that any solution requires brave and bold decisions. That is why we must never separate those who fight and challenge into more or less patriotic,” he said, adding that we are all fighting for the same cause.
‘Greece and Cyprus thus continue our common effort with our fraternal ties, our presence in the EU and in international fora and above all with the constant coordination of our actions,” he noted.
Addressing President Christodoulides he told him that he will “always have the first word, but with Gre
ece standing firmly and actively at your side.” In a role, he added, “that is not only my choice, it is the choice of the nation, it is ultimately the choice of history itself, not with another slogan, but with a commitment that Hellenism will not stop fighting until Cyprus is restored.”
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Culture Vassiliki Kassianidou presented to the Greek Prime Minister and his spouse the participatory art project NIMATA (threads), through which one can trace the path his family followed in the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus from the Turkish occupied areas as refugees immediately after the Turkish invasion.
The Prime Minister of Greece and his spouse praised the idea of making the project a reality, noting that it is extraordinary and moving.
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 Cra
ns-Montana ended inconclusively. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency