The President needs to be clear in the positions he will express to Mrs. Lutte
Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou on the President’s meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cyprus
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 31 October 2018, Nicosia
As the President of the Republic is meeting right now with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cyprus Mrs. Lutte, we would like to express the hope and expectation that this meeting – and Mrs. Lutte’s visit in general – will work positively towards the direction of fulfilling the goal set by the UN Secretary-General himself in the recent Report he submitted. That is, the resumption of the negotiations. According to the Report, the leaders of the two communities must jointly decide to engage in substantive negotiations with a view to reaching a comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation. In order to do this, the President of the Republic needs to be clear in the positions he will express to Mrs. Lutte, to agree for a resumption of the negotiations without setting terms and preconditions and without adding to the discussion that has developed in Cyprus recently in relation to the basis of solution of the Cyprus problem. The positions expressed and all that the President is discussing with various circles and people concerning the basis of the solution sought, have unfortunately contributed to this discussion.
Of course, it isn’t the positions of the President of the Republic alone that will determine whether the negotiations will resume. All the involved parties must move in the direction pointed out by the UN Secretary-General and, first and foremost, the Turkish side. The President, however, should do what the UN Secretary-General sets out, and if everyone does the same, then we will have the resumptions of the negotiations. If not, at least the Greek Cypriot side should not be assigned responsibilities.
