Instead of giving answers as to what actually happened at Crans Montana, they leak documents selectively

Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stephanou on the Cyprus problem

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 18th February 2020, Nicosia

The President of the Republic and the government instead of giving answers and rejecting what the former advisor of the President in relation to Crans Montana has charged, have proceed to leak in a selective and targeted way documents from the negotiations.

They evidently are not worried about the damage caused to our side’s credibility by engaging in such actions. Anyhow, not even with the government’s leaking of documents are the people really enlightened as to what actually happened at the critical Crans Montana Conference. The document leaked outlines Turkey’s initial positions on security and guarantees. However, the leak gives no answer as to what happened afterwards. How did we arrive – according to the statements made by the former Greek Minister Foreign Minister Mr. Kotzias – to the point where our side did not accept the discussion of the informal document for the Implementation Mechanism of the solution which, together with the Guterres Framework, abolishes the guarantee and intervention rights, given that only an advisory role is assigned to the guarantor powers?

What the Government is not giving an answer to is, how did we end up with the UN Secretary General in his Report of September 2017 speaking of the commitment of all the guarantor powers – that is to say Turkey too – to find mutually acceptable solutions on the issue of security and guarantees?

What the government and the President don’t reply to is why have they never reacted so far to the UN Secretary General’s report which relieves Turkey of responsibilities?

Why didn’t they contest the 2017 Report and take action to remove (from the Report) what they considered as unfounded?

Two possible things are happening. Either something else happened that those who attended the Conference can’t oppose, or there is an inexcusable and dangerous incompetence that now accompanies us eroding our arguments.

AKEL reiterates the following. The solution of the Cyprus problem cannot but include the abolition of Turkey’s guarantees and intervention rights and the withdrawal of the occupying army from our homeland. This will not be achieved other through the resumption of the negotiations from the point where they had remained at Crans Montana and on the basis of the UN Secretary General’s Framework. Any other strategy by result not only ends in failure, but creates new dangers.