Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, said Tuesday that the terms of reference for the resumption of Cyprus talks will be agreed upon by all parties, and therefore it was not a matter of what each part would demand.

On the sidelines of an event of “Foni” Council, the President of the Republic was invited to comment an interview of the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mavlut Cavusoglu with the Cypriot newspaper “Politis” who referred to what he discussed with President Anastasiades regarding the solution for the Cyprus problem. As Anastasiades noted, in the interview was clear that what he had said publicly at a press conference is what he had discussed with Cavusoglu. He added that this was a clear answer to the criticism against him.

Asked on Cavusoglu’s comments on the prerequisites for the resumption of Cyprus talks, the President said that “the terms of reference will be agreed upon by all parties, and therefore it is not a matter of what each part would demand”.

As he said there will be something more specific when UN secretary-general`s envoy, Jane Holl Lute visits Athens and Ankara on December 4th and 5th respectively and she will then come to Cyprus.

Asked about Cavusoglu’s positions on security issues concerning the Cyprus problem, the President said that “Mr. Cavusoglu’s and Turkey`s positions on security issues were well known since Geneva, Mont Pelerin , later in Crans-Montana and before July 6 when he (Cavusoglu) said that we should wake up from the dream that the guarantees can be abolished. He repeated it recently. Some may hear it, some may not want to hear it.”

He added that both the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akkinci and Mevlut Cavusoglu insist that the safeguards should be maintained.
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.

In his report, last October, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asked the parties to agree, the soonest possible, on the terms of reference for the resumption of substantive negotiations.