“I am going to New York with the sole aim this trilateral meeting to be the first step in order to put the Cyprus problem back on the negotiating track,” President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday referring to a dinner he will have on Tuesday with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
He was addressing a commemoration ceremony organised by Turkish occupied Morphou, in Astromeritis, Nicosia district.
President Christodoulides noted that he is going to New York with the necessary realism, but also with confidence and focus, assuring of his determination to work for better days in the country.
“I will fully honour the terms of the mandate I have received from the Cypriot people, and I will exhaust every negotiating option to seek a solution, a viable solution, a workable solution,” the President added. He noted that from his first day in office, he remains “committed, not with words but with deeds, to the effort to resume negotiations, to seek a solution that will e
nd the occupation of Cyprus, that will make our country a normal state, without occupying troops, without guarantors with interventionist rights”.
“We are ready to proceed immediately to negotiations, from the point where they stopped in the summer of 2017, to seek a solution always on the basis of the agreed framework, building on the negotiating acquis, the principles and values of the EU,” the President Christodoulides continued.
At the same time, he said he was encouraged and strengthened by what was discussed at the National Council, despite any differences and criticism that may have been expressed by political leaders in Cyprus.
The President then underlined that “Morphou is non-negotiable, as certainly is every inch of our occupied land”, adding that “our claim for the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus into a bi-zonal bi-communal state that will guarantee basic human rights for all its legitimate citizens, its European citizens, is also non-negotiable. We claim a homeland that offers all its
citizens the opportunity to live and create in peace, security and prosperity.”
He also expressed his satisfaction because “the international community, all major international actors, the institutions, our European partners, the leaders of other states with a special interest in the Cyprus problem, and the UN Secretary General himself, recognise the sincerity of our intentions and credit us with the will and commitment to seek a solution on the basis of the agreed framework.” He noted that the fact that the UN Secretary General, in the midst of two wars, has called on his own initiative the informal meeting next Tuesday is an indication of the above.
The President also referred to the problems of the refugees, assuring that he was aware of them and that action was being taken to support them. “We have taken bold decisions in these 19 months of government and new actions will soon be announced to offer our displaced people the best possible quality of life under the conditions of occupation,” he said.
Refe
rring to the KTIZO programme, the modernisation of the Turkish Cypriot properties management, the new criteria for housing plans of the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons, as well as the horizontal increase in rent allowances for displaced and affected persons, President Christodoulides said that they are the minimum obligation of the State towards the citizens who lost everything.
The President expressed his sincere belief that a solution of the Cyprus problem is not a pipe dream. “We are working very methodically, we know our goals, we know very well where and how we will reach our destination. We are making use of our European status and our country’s geostrategic advantage, we are strengthening the diplomatic footprint of the Republic of Cyprus – and this is neither wishful thinking nor our own assessment, it is the point of view of the international community,” he said.
He added that the Republic of Cyprus is not alone and that “it has the firm support of Greece and is an equa
l and integral member of the great European family”.
He went on to say that Cyprus plays an important role as a pillar of security and stability, noting however, that “the war that is raging next to us, is a constant reminder that the status quo is neither sustainable nor safe”.
He concluded by assuring that Morphou can only be part of the solution for a free homeland, a reunited homeland.
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