Deadlock on the Cyprus problem is always dangerous, especially when accompanied by responsibilities being apportioned on our side
Statement by Stefanos Stefanou, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 23rd May 2017, Nicosia
The procedural proposal tabled by the President of the Republic for the continuation of the negotiations provides for a priority discussion and agreement on the issue of security. The proposal consequently provides for a discussion of the territorial issue, on which an agreement must also be reached and then the discussion on the rest of the issues will follow.
If the proposal of the President of the Republic is accepted, then we will have a continuation of the negotiations. However, if it’s not accepted, the danger of a deadlock on procedural issues is very real. And it will be really tragic if, for procedural reasons, the negotiations end up in a deadlock.
We agree with the President that the issue of security should be discussed as a matter of priority. We don’t think that’s where the problem lies. The problem is whether we insist that the issues of security and territory should be agreed before we go further. If there is no agreement on this procedure proposed by the President, there will be a deadlock with the blame potentially apportioned on our side. We do not agree with the President of the Republic that if a deadlock occurs, there will be no problem. The deadlock on the Cyprus problem is always dangerous, especially when accompanied by responsibilities being apportioned on our side. This is what past experience shows.
Therefore, it is important that the President of the Republic cooperates with the UN to overcome any procedural problems and enter into substantive negotiations on the important issues that are pending. That is precisely where Turkey’s true intentions on the Cyprus problem will be revealed.
At the same time, we believe that the Government must elaborate ways of defending the interests of our country and people in the event of a possible deadlock in the talks, as well as in dealing with a possible Turkish provocation when drilling goes ahead.
