Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said that Tayyip Erdogan’s statements is a reflection of Turkey’s weakness to persuade the international community on its unacceptable stance.
Invited by the press on Monday to say whether he is optimistic for any developments for the resumption of the peace talks on the Cyprus issue, in light of Erdogan’s statements for a two-state solution on the island, the President said that he did not expect anything new from Turkey’s President.
President Christodoulides said that whatever Erdogan’s says, Turkey continues to illegally occupy 37% of the territory of an EU member state. He said that his statements where made for his own audience and for internal politics. The President said that our homeland is under occupation and we will do everything possible to create the conditions to reunify it, on the basis of the agreed framework.
He went on to say that for us and for the international community there is no other basis for solution other than the agreed framework. The Pres
ident also pointed out that Turkey is trying to equate its responsibilities with ours and noted that in 2024 such rhetoric and such public threats are a sign of weakness.
Invited to say what he meant by bold decisions that he might have to take, he said that the bold decisions reflect his readiness, not in words, but in deeds, to do everything possible to reunify the island. He said that 50 years from the Turkish invasion, this is a duty to honor all those who sacrifice their lives for our existence.
In another question about Turkey’s statements against Greek Minister of Defense and how these affect the Greek-Turkish relations, the President said that he cannot comment on Turkey’s intentions, but apparently they reflect its weakness. He also reminded that when the whole of the international community praised Cyprus for the Amalthea initiative to provide aid to Gaza, Erdogan once again tried to prevent this initiative.
President Christodoulides also said that there is no question for a four-party meeting. B
ut he went on to say that we need Turkey’s cooperation and we have sent positive messages towards the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey and it is up to them to have specific developments.
Replying to another question about new Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), the President of the Republic said that he has many thoughts and ideas on both the substance of the negotiations and on CBMs, adding that depending on the developments, he will take the next step.
Asked if he believes that there will be developments in September, following the UN General Assembly, he said that he cannot rule out anything in relation to the time frame. He noted that we are waiting for the UN Secretary General to announce his next steps.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guter
res appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency