Intervention of Christos Christofides, member of the Political Bureau of AKEL, at the meeting of Greek-cypriot and Turkish-cypriot parties

“Confidence -building measures and how they can help towards the solution of the Cyprus Problem”

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 30th April 2014, Nicosia

AKEL was always in favour of measures that can
build up the trust between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Besides, it could not be otherwise, given that AKEL is that political power which from 1974 until today is struggling for rapprochement and the cultivation of trust between the two communities.

The promotion of Confidence-Building Measures (CBM’s) can play an important role in the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem under certain pre-conditions. CBM’s should be substantive, facilitate the contact between the two communities and the development of mutual trust. They should not create obstacles to the solution of the Cyprus problem and furthermore they should not be a substitute for the actual solution of the Cyprus problem itself which remains the key issue and pressing need. CBM’s should break down the current unacceptable status quo and not perpetuate it.

The main objective and pressing need was, and remains, the solution of the Cyprus problem. That is where we should focus our efforts on. The discussion on CBM’s cannot, and indeed must not replace the dialogue for the solution of the Cyprus problem, nor should it delay it, on the contrary. The adoption of CBM’s should aim, among other things, at the creation of a corresponding climate and dynamics at the negotiating table. We have warned many times that the gaps created by a procedure of negotiation from the beginning/from scratch of the Cyprus problem and with the widening of the distance in the positions between the two sides, there is the danger that these gaps and differences will be filled by other third parties and this of course would not be in the interests of the Cypriot people.

In recent years important CBM’s have been adopted, some of them of historical significance, such as the opening of the crossing points of Ledra Street and Limniti.

Today there are CBM’s which can change significantly the situation surrounding the Cyprus problem, mainly that of the opening of the fenced-off area of ​​Famagusta and its return to its lawful inhabitants under the auspices of the United Nations. At the same time, the opening of the port of Famagusta under EU auspices, the opening of the Turkish ports and airports to ships and aircraft from Cyprus and the simultaneous opening of chapters in the EU-Turkey accession negotiations are measures that can significantly enhance the prospects for solving the Cyprus problem. All the involved parties will benefit from such a development (“win-win situation”).

This proposal is contained in the well-known “three pillar proposal” that was submitted in recent years, without however receiving the positive response of Mr. Eroglu and Ankara. We hope that soon there will be positive developments, thus assisting the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.

Finally, we are obliged to express our concern about the very slow pace at which the negotiations are proceeding and about the gap separating the positions of the two sides, which is mainly due to the stand and positions of Mr. Eroglu. We also express our concern about by the movements and actions of the occupying power Turkey which over the recent period are creating additional problems in the process.