The situation on the Cyprus problem is critical and dangerous
Statements by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL:
1st November 2020, ‘Dialogos’ portal
The General Secretary of AKEL Andros Kyprianou described the situation surrounding the Cyprus problem as critical and dangerous, adding that it is extremely important to achieve the creation of the preconditions that will force Turkey to return to the negotiating table.
In his statements before departing for Athens for an exchange of views on the Cyprus problem with the political and state leadership of Greece, Mr. Kyprianou said that “the Cyprus problem is in a critical and dangerous situation, we need to deal with it in an effective, but above all in an essential way and not limit ourselves to actions that will aim at impressing public opinion”.
A.Kyprianou added that “we want to discuss with the Greek political and state leadership about how they are reflecting on proceeding further as regards addressing the unacceptable positions being expressed by Turkey, but also about the new fait accompli that are being attempted in Famagusta. We shall convey our views to the Greek Prime Minister, the President of the Hellenic Republic, the Foreign Minister as well as to the leaders of the Communist Party of Greece and SYRIZA, in the hope that those preconditions will be created that will force the Turkish side to return to the negotiating table on the agreed basis”.
According to Mr. Kyprianou, “it is extremely important at this stage to achieve this.”
Asked to comment on a recent interview given by former Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on state-owned RIK TV, the General Secretary of AKEL said that “Mr. Kotzias’ interview has shown that in Crans Montana the issue of the abolition of guarantees and the withdrawal of Turkish troops was indeed raised. What Mr. Kotzias says about what happened up to the working dinner is what we have been saying all this time and counters the narrative projected by the President of the Republic,” he said.
Regarding the working dinner at Crans Montana, Andros Kyprianou submitted a “naive” question as he characterised it, which he has posed many times, but hasn’t yet received a reply to.
If, he continued, “things developed as we (the Greek Cypriot side under President Anastasiades) say, that is to say, it was the Turkish Foreign Minister Mr. Cavusoglou that torpedoed the negotiations, then why does the UN Secretary General record things in a different way in the Report he submitted? Why does the Secretary General exonerate Turkey and apportion responsibilities on both leaders for not having the political will to go all the way?”
Furthermore, the General Secretary of AKEL added that the “most crucial” as he characterised it question was “why did we (the Greek Cypriot side) not react to what the UN Secretary-General had recorded if it did not reflect to reality?” Mr. Kotzias’ reply that we did not want to undermine the Secretary General of the UN is not convincing in my opinion, in the sense that on such an important issue you do not allow yourself to be exposed simply for reasons of brevity towards the Secretary General of the International Organization».
Mr. Kyprianou also said that during his visit to Athens no meeting was planned with Nikos Kotzias, with whom he noted “we had many meetings when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece”.
