The President must stop determining his policy on the Cyprus problem according to pre-election considerations and concentrate on the substance
AKEL on the confrontation with the UN General Secretariat
Statement by Stefanos Stefanou, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson
AKEL C.C Press Office, 26th July 2017, Nicosia
After the failure of the Conference on Cyprus in Crans Montana, no one from the international community is talking about Turkey’s responsibilities. The UN expects from the two Cypriot sides that they work for the continuation of the negotiations, and President Anastasiades is moving in the logic of confrontation with the United Nations Secretariat.
The government’s intention to make minutes from confidential talks public, and indeed not official and agreed-upon practices, but from a recording of the Greek Cypriot side, will intensify the confrontation with the International Organization and further damage our side’s credibility. This is both dangerous and damaging to the Greek Cypriot side and the Republic of Cyprus in general.
The President of the Republic, when he was in opposition criticizing the then President Tasos Papadopoulos, stated in April 2004 that “they are denigrating and humiliating their country, all those circles and forces who are driving the country to isolation, bringing it into conflict with the UN, the EU and the international community”. What has changed now and President Anastasiades is heading in such a direction?
The President of the Republic, if he wants to serve the prospect of a solution of the Cyprus problem, must stop determining his policy on the Cyprus problem according to pre-election considerations and concentrate on the substance: that is, to work to create preconditions for the continuation of the negotiations from the point where they broke down in Switzerland.
This becomes even more pressing as Turkey is now openly seeking the diversion of the Cyprus problem from the framework of the United Nations and in cooperation with forces in the occupied areas it is planning to promote the partition on the ground.
