Statements by General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL S.Stefanou after the meeting with the President of the Hellenic Republic Mrs. Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou

 

17 September 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

We had a meeting with the President of the Hellenic Republic and had the opportunity to talk with her about the current phase in which the Cyprus problem is in, about the worrying deadlock and stalemate that has existed on the Cyprus problem since 2017.

This impasse enables Turkey to exploit the deadlock and attempt to create new fait accompli that undermine the prospect of resuming the negotiations and for sure the prospect of achieving a solution to the Cyprus problem that will liberate and reunite our country and people.

We have briefed the President of Greece about the ongoing developments and the whole situation. She expressed great interest and knowledge about the Cyprus problem and about the phase in which it is today. We informed her of AKEL’s positions on how to address this situation, which hampers the prospects of reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem.

It is well known that AKEL is insisting that in the face of Turkey’s efforts to move away from the agreed basis for a solution, our own consistency and determination for a solution to the Cyprus problem within the agreed basis for a solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as outlined by the relevant UN resolutions, must be strengthened.

At the same time, we briefed the President about the proposal that AKEL has submitted on how negotiations can be resumed and the tools that can be used to create momentum for the resumption of the negotiations, which the UN Secretary General has referred to in his latest Report on the renewal of the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

Finally, we thanked the President of Greece for the opportunity she gave to us through this meeting to outline our own positions and thoughts.