UK needs to convert its words into political actions

 

Statement by Aristos Damianou, Member of the C.C. of AKEL, Head of the Legal Affairs Department and AKEL MP

AKEL C.C. Press Office 27th November 2014, Nicosia

 

The United Kingdom has played a negative role in the creation and evolution of the Cyprus problem. As a guarantor power at critical moments on the Cyprus problem, it did not act objectively and brought suffering to the Cypriot people.

This is the reason why the position expressed yesterday by David Lidington, Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, is important. In particular, we welcome the reaffirmation of the position on the exclusive sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in relation to the use of its national wealth in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus. In addition, we welcome the acceptance of the position of the Greek Cypriot community that the energy factor is an incentive and reward for the solution, referring to the exploitation of the wealth by both communities after the solution of the Cyprus problem.

The United Kingdom must of course at last convert such positive references into political action as well, given that for a long period of time its actions and policies have been moving in the opposite direction. On the one hand the UK should be exerting its influence on Turkey to end to its illegal actions in the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus and on the other it should persuade Turkey that the abandonment of its partitionist policies and tactics on the Cyprus problem and the adoption in practice of the agreed framework of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal solution it is to everyone’s benefit, including Turkey itself.

This is the only way to create the preconditions for breaching the deadlock and for opening up a real perspective for the liberation and peaceful reunification of our country and people.