The President is outside the Guterres Framework

AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou replies to the Government Spokesman

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 5 July 2019, Nicosia

Unable to reply to AKEL’s questions, the government spokesman is provoking us to point out which terms and preconditions the President of the Republic has put froth that render the resumption of negotiations difficult.

We have no difficulty in giving a reply:

Whereas the UN Secretary-General wants a resumption of the negotiations from the point where they had remained at Crans Montana and on the basis of his Framework, also preserving the convergences recorded, the President is annulling these convergences with what he is calling for.

More specifically:

When the President calls for decentralized federation, he is basically referring to a discussion from scratch on the issue of federal competences that has been agreed.

When the President refers to a discussion on a parliamentary system, he effectively is abolishing the convergence recorded on executive power.

The same is also the case when the President refers to the one positive vote of the Turkish Cypriots in the Cabinet only when their vital interests are affected, at the same time as there is agreement on the one positive vote.

These are just the latest cases we can refer to because they are preceded by others.

Consequently, all that the President of the Republic is stating, is in effect clashing with what the UN Secretary-General is calling for. Logically, therefore, citizens are wondering: how convincing is the President towards the international community about his intentions for a resumption of negotiations?

The Government itself has to provide answers.