Greek main opposition party SYRIZA new leader Stefanos Kasselakis has told CNA that he is in favour of a resumption of Cyprus talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana and has expressed his support of Confidence Building Measures.
In an interview with Cyprus News Agency ahead of his visit in Cyprus, the first since his election at the helm of the party, Kasselakis underlined the importance of an appointment of a UN envoy and conveyed his party’s full support in the Republic of Cyprus’ efforts in this direction.
The President of SYRIZA stressed that “no partitionist proposal can be the basis for dialogue” on the Cyprus problem. At the same time, he reiterated his party’s commitment to a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, within the framework of the UN resolutions for a bizonal, bicommunal federation, without guarantees or occupation troops.
Kasselakis told CNA that the dialogue on the Cyprus solution must resume from the point where it was interrupted in Crans-Montana. He also suggested that “there must be pressure from the EU and our partners with incentives and disincentives so that Turkey commits itself to a dialogue.’
In this context, he suggested that it is important to link the Euro-Turkish framework and in particular the negotiations on a revised customs union to the Cyprus problem.
At the same time, he stressed the importance of appointing a UN envoy for the Cyprus problem and the need for absolute support of the Republic of Cyprus in this direction.
Referring to the current phase of Greek-Turkish relations, he noted that “the promotion of the Greek-Turkish dialogue is a positive development for the normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations”, but stressed that “negative developments in relation to the Cyprus problem will clearly undermine the Greek-Turkish dialogue.”
Asked about a controversial reference to the puppet regime in Cyprus’ Turkish occupied north which caused public reaction, Kasselakis reiterated that he “immediately reformulated and apologized.”
Asked why he chose to make his first visit after his election to Cyprus, the President of SYRIZA noted: “I consider it my duty to visit Cyprus first, recognising and highlighting the importance of a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem for Hellenism.’
‘And, of course, to emphasise the importance of stable coordination and cooperation between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, in a period of significant challenges and prospects for our region.”
As he said, his party both now as the main opposition party, and also as a former government ‘has a strong legacy of active support for the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, in the framework of the UN Resolutions – a solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, for the benefit of all the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, without guarantees or occupation troops.’
Regarding possible ways to overcome the stalemate in the Cyprus problem, Kasselakis noted that “unfortunately, in the face of the effort to restart the talks, we have the continued intransigence of the Turkish Cypriot leadership and especially Turkey.”
“It is clear that no partitionist proposal can be the basis for dialogue. However, we must insist that there should be a resumption of talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana. We must persevere at various levels,” he pointed out.
“First of all, it is very important to have a UN envoy appointed and we fully support the efforts of the Republic of Cyprus in this direction,’ he said, adding that ‘at the same time, it is important to link the Euro-Turkish framework that is currently under discussion, and in particular the negotiation of a revised customs union, with the Cyprus problem.’
‘There must be pressure from the EU and our partners with incentives and disincentives to engage Turkey to a dialogue; Turkey should not be allowed to use the dialogue as an opportunity to return to tension after securing the benefits it seeks,” Kasselakis stressed.
“Tomorrow I will visit the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, which does a very important job, as we all know. Cyprus needs Confidence Building Measures and not unilateral aggressive actions like the ones we saw in Pyla or Varosha or aggressive statements like the ones we saw from the Turkish President at the UN,” Kasselakis noted.
Referring to the current phase of Greek-Turkish relations, the President of SYRIZA stressed that “the promotion of the Greek-Turkish dialogue is a positive development for the normalization of our relations’.
However, it must be clear that ‘negative developments in relation to the Cyprus problem will clearly undermine the Greek-Turkish dialogue,” he concluded.
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency