AKEL on developments on the Cyprus Problem
Statements by Georgios Loucaides, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson
AKEL expresses its deep concern about the developments on the Cyprus problem and particularly with regards the attempt to agree on a joint communiqué, which should form the basis for the beginning of negotiations aiming towards achieving a comprehensive solution to the problem.
Unfortunately, pre-election and post-electoral considerations and expediencies of the government and ruling forces supporting it have led to incompetent, unfortunate and erratic handlings of the Greek Cypriot side, which facilitate Turkish intransigence and the designs of the other side.
As AKEL had warned from the very beginning, the abandonment of Christofias – Talat joint communiqués has led to the spectre of a potential impasse, the responsibility for which will also be apportioned on the Greek Cypriot side, or lead to a possible disorderly retreat/concession by the Greek Cypriot side with regards the content of the necessary common basis for the resumption of the negotiations.
Furthermore, valuable time has been lost, given that after many months of a fruitless process, our side appears to be abandoning the position for a Joint communiqué with an enlarged content and to be promoting the position for shorter joint communiqués, that is to say as it should have done from the beginning.
In view of the situation that has been created, the only way out to avoid these dangers is the return of the Christofias-Talat joint communiqués to the negotiating table and the interpretation of a single and indivisible sovereignty, as formulated by the UN document on the convergences registered; an interpretation which the President’s recent letter to the Secretary General UN correctly invokes.
Such an action by the Greek Cypriot side will automatically shift the whole burden of responsibility on the Turkish Cypriot side in the event of a rejection of what had been agreed upon and at the same time it will prompt the United Nations to offer support for the positions of the Greek Cypriot side.
Otherwise in the event of the President of the Republic and the political forces supporting him insist on their well-known inconsistencies, refusing to draw lessons from the bitter experiences of the past, they assume full responsibility of the potential conversion of the dangers to fait accomplis. Such a development, we reiterate, will facilitate the Turkish designs against the Greek Cypriot side and ultimately it will be against the perspective of a fair under the circumstances, functional and viable solution of the Cyprus problem.
