Cypriot House President and General Secretary of left-wing AKEL party, Demetris Christofias, said that what is necessary at the current phase of the Cyprus problem is to create the conditions for the resumption of full-fledged negotiations for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem, stressing that this could be achieved through the implementation of the July 8 agreement.
Addressing on Saturday evening the annual Cyprus Wine Festival and Business Exhibition 2007 organised by “Parikiaki†newspaper in London, Christofias acknowledged that time works against a solution to the Cyprus issue, noting however that the Greek Cypriot side is seeking a functional and just, under the circumstances, solution.
”Unfortunately, the situation is not encouraging. The Cyprus problem is in a deadlock, which has been created by the intransigent and delaying stance of the Turkish side, which refuses to cooperate for a solution that will benefit the interests of Cyprus and its people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,” he said.
According to Christofias, after the April 2004 referenda, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership have entrenched behind the approval of the Annan plan and with the excuse of wanting to end the so called isolation against the Turkish Cypriots, they are pursuing the upgrading of the structures of the illegal regime in the Turkish-occupied areas since the 1974 invasion part of Cyprus, with the aim of its gradual recognition.
”The manifestation of Turkey’s delaying stance is its evasion from the July 8 agreement,” achieved by Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in July 2006 in the presence of the then UN Undersecretary-General for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari.
Noting that the Turkish side is obstructing the implementation of the agreement with the argument that valuable time would be lost and it would be better for both sides to agree on a resumption of negotiations for an overall settlement, Christofias pointed out that this argument may seem rational but the answer is simple: ‘There is lack of trust between the two communities and a big gap between their positions on fundamental aspects of the Cyprus problem.”
”If full-fledged negotiations commence at the backdrop of this situation, it is most likely that these negotiations will end up nowhere, will fail, and then valuable time will be lost and the solution of the Cyprus problem will become even more difficult,” Christofias said.
He also pointed out that due to the Turkish side’s refusal to implement the July 8 agreement a whole year has been lost. ”If the agreement had been implemented, progress could have been achieved and in any case the leaders of the two communities would have met at least three times,” Christofias pointed out.
”At the present phase of the Cyprus problem what needs to be done and where our efforts should focus on, is to create the preconditions for the recommencement of negotiations. This can be achieved with the implementation of the July 8 agreement which provides exactly this, the setting up of technical committees and working groups to discuss day to day issues and confidence building measures as well as issues of substance,” Christofias said.
According to the House President, the Greek Cypriot side is seeking a solution ”as soon as possible because we are aware that time is working against a solution and that each day that passes by makes things more difficult and more complex for the Cyprus problem.”
He noted however that time is only one of the parametres of the problem, with the content of the solution being the other and most important.
”Our aim is a solution which will fulfill certain conditions and preconditions and not a solution irrespective of its content,” Christofias added noting that ”a bad solution will not be a solution and would lead to new problems and perhaps new tribulations and tragedies.”
”We are seeking a solution as soon as possible but a just, under the circumstances, solution, a viable and functional solution, a solution which will end the occupation and will reunify Cyprus, a solution that will restore human rights and the fundamental freedoms of the people and will serve their interests and not those of foreigners,” he added.
He noted the foundation for such a solution is already there. “They are the High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1979 providing for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, and the relevant UN resolution and the principles of the international and the European lawâ€, he said.
”The answer to Turkish intransigence is our insistence on the correct basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem,” he said and concluded that ”we have no other option. The dilemma is a bi-zonal bi-communal federation or partition and we will never settle with partition,†the House President concluded.
