House President Yiannakis Omirou has said that proposals put forward by the Turkish side at the negotiations for a political settlement of the Cyprus problem reveal that the Turkish goals remain firm and unchanged. Speaking during a memorial service for Yiannis Shiammas, who was killed during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Omirou said that three years after the beginning of direct negotiations the Turkish intransigence continues.

He noted that the proposals of the Turkish side provide for the dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus, the establishment of two equal state entities, a loose confederation, the maintaining of Turkey’s strategic control of Cyprus through guarantees and the revival of the Annan plan under a different name, a UN-proposed solution plan, the product of arbitration, rejected by the overwhelming majority of the Greek Cypriots and approved by a majority of Turkish Cypriots.
Moreover they provide for a settlement which will become EU Primary Law, to allow permanent derogations from the acquis communautaire, permanent violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Omirou added.

Omirou stressed that the Greek Cypriot side must move towards three directions. It must inform the international and European community about Turkish manoeuvres and pinpoint the intransigence of the Turkish side, which does not allow any progress. “We must warn that if there are no effective interventions and pressures in the direction of Turkey, the process of the talks will fail”, he added.
He said that tactics at the negotiating table and the strategy in the overall handling of the Cyprus problem must be reviewed.

Omirou stressed that Turkey’s European course must be the basic lever of pressure and the main weapon to convince Turkey to rationalize its behaviour and comply with international and European law. “What we have to do is to follow a strategy that will make clear to our partners that Turkey’s accession talks with the EU cannot move on if Turkey refuses to fulfill its obligations toward the Republic of Cyprus, which include its obligation to cooperate for a settlement on the basis of UN resolutions and the principles on which the EU is founded,” he added.