President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, who will meet next week with UNSG Antonio Guterres, said on Saturday that at their meeting he will express the strong willingness of the Greek Cypriot side to continue the Cyprus dialogue, which was interrupted by the Turkish Cypriot side last month.
In statements to journalists, the President stressed that the goal of his visit in New York is to reiterate his strong willingness for the resumption of the talks as well as to refer to the framework that a solution must have in order to be viable, functional and accepted by the people.
“I reiterate that our goal is the achievement of a solution that would meet the expectations and the concerns, not only of one community but of both communities”,he noted.
The solution, he added, must definitely not allow any third parties to present themselves as guarantors and must not include the presence of occupation troops either.
Asked if he believes that the Turkish Cypriot leader will return to the negotiating table, he said he hoped he would do so.
The President was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the official start of the Limassol Marathon, that takes place in this Cypriot southern coastal town.
The Republic of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN led talks between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities resumed in May 2015 with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.
The talks were interrupted in mid February by the Turkish Cypriot side, which demands that a decision passed by the Cypriot Parliament relating to a 1950 referendum on union with Greece is revoked, claiming this indicates a shift in the Greek Cypriot side`s goal for a federal solution. The amendment provides that there will be a very brief reference to the referendum at schools.
President Anastasiades has described the House decision as wrong and called on the leader of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, who walked out of the talks, to return to the negotiating table to discuss pending issues with a view to reach a mutually acceptable agreement to reunite the country.
