The UN Secretary-General’s statement sends out strong messages
Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 19th September 2019, Nicosia
The statement made yesterday by the UN Secretary-General on the Cyprus problem confirms the need for the two leaders to quickly reach an agreement on the Terms of Reference so as to be able to proceed to the resumption of substantial negotiations. The government, the political forces and all Cypriots must correctly diagnose the messages behind the UN Secretary-General’s references about the UN Security Council’s impatience for the procedure to resume, but also that “there are very good reasons for the parties to understand that at least on terms of reference they need to come to an agreement.”
These are strong messages for everyone. The nightmare of the definitive partition and the dangers to security on the island and in our region are something more than visible.
The need to reverse today’s disastrous course is decisive for the course of the Cyprus problem, and at the end of the day for the very future of Cyprus itself. The two leaders must at long last conclude the effort to reach agreement on the Terms of Reference and resume negotiations from the point from which they had remained at Crans Montana, on the basis of the 2014 Joint Declaration, the convergences that have been recorded and the Framework of the UN Secretary General.
The resumption of substantial negotiations is needed because only this can repel the new fait accompli which the occupying power has set in motion. At the same time, this is the only way that can pave the way for a solution to the Cyprus problem, for liberation and reunification on the basis of a bi-zonal, bicommunal federation with political equality as set out in the Resolutions of the United Nations.
