Cyprus President Demetris Christofias expressed satisfaction that a meeting between the leaders of the island’s two communities will take place on Friday, so soon after his election to the presidency in February.
He said that he will attend the meeting with goodwill and that he is ready for hard work.
In his opening statement at a press conference at the Presidential Palace, President Christofias said the meeting of March 21 will be of an exploratory nature, during which each community will state its fundamental positions and intentions with regard to the solution of the
“We do not want to have delays. We do not have the time. At the same time, we believe that it is not productive to act in haste, without the necessary preparation that will allow progress to be achieved. This time we must succeed. A new failure will be devastating for the future of our people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,†the President stressed.
He reiterated his readiness to proceed with the opening of a crossing point at
, in
Summing up the government’s position, the President said a new Cyprus effort should have as its starting point the UN-brokered agreement of 8th July 2006, since this is the only agreement that exists between the two Cypriot communities, apart from the High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1979 and it enjoys the support of both the Security Council and the European Union.
He added that he expects Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will also honour his own signature on the agreement “so that we can move forwardâ€.
Describing the Cyprus problem as a complex and difficult one, President Christofias said that in order to resolve it, it is imperative to have the cooperation and good will of both sides, stressing that on the part of the Greek Cypriot side “we are ready and willing to work hard to reach, under the circumstances, a fair, viable and workable solution, soonâ€.
We have to look ahead and not constantly turn back to the past and to positions which are not constructive, Christofias said, stressing that for a solution to be viable and fair it has to be agreed by the Cypriots themselves and added that he is gratified that, following the negative experience of recent years, the international community now states this position.
He said that a partnership between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots has existed since 1960, as a result of the
He declared the government’s readiness to honour the compromise for the creation of a bizonal, bi-communal federation, which has become necessary in order to cope with the conditions created by
He also said he is ready to proceed with the opening of the
crossing and at the same time, it is also his position that all necessary arrangements should be made to open the Limnitis check-point at the earliest possible time.
“Certainly, the opening of the crossing points does not constitute the solution to the Cyprus problem, but it does help to enhance communication between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to strengthen the trust between themâ€, the President concluded.
