The trilateral meeting is of crucial importance
Statement by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL A.Kyprianou on the Cyprus problem
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 18th November 2019, Nicosia
We are now just one week away from the trilateral meeting in Berlin. We consider that a very good preparation must to be made with a view to maximizing the possibilities of a successful outcome at this meeting. Information from various quarters suggest that this meeting might be far more important than one might expect. It is extremely important that we go with very clear goals to the meeting and very well prepared, in the sense that we must devote all our energies to achieve a positive result so we can subsequently go to the informal conference and there the resumption of substantive negotiations will be decided.
Our side says, and I accept that this is so, that Turkey doesn’t want neither the trilateral meeting to succeed, but nor that it be followed by the informal conference as well. If this is the case, then this is an additional reason why we must go to the trilateral meeting with determination and insist on a conclusion; that there should be an initial agreement on the issues as to the terms of reference and that it should be referred to the informal conference.
Why do I say this? On the domestic front we may have our own narrative about Turkey’s enormous responsibility for the non-solution to the Cyprus problem. Internationally, there is a different perception, especially about what happened at Crans Montana. We therefore need to convince internationally of our readiness for a resumption of negotiations on the basis of the framework laid down by numerous UN resolutions. Namely, bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. We must make it absolutely clear that this is the only framework the solution to the Cyprus problem must be discussed. As long as something else is allowed to loom, you realize that this doesn’t serve our own goal. We will therefore judge Mr. Anastasiades on the results of this meeting.
