Acting President and House President Yiannakis Omirou has expressed the position that the negotiations on Cyprus problem should not be resumed if the Turkish side does not consent on a Joint Declaration which will record the basic principles of the solution.

Speaking here Friday, in the framework of a visit to camps of National Guard, Omirou stressed that these principles provides for a country with a single sovereignty, one citizenship and one international personality.

“For months now, the Turkish side refuses to consent on a basis for the negotiation that will guarantee the single and indivisible sovereignty, the one international personality and the one citizenship. As long as the Turkish side does not consent on that basis, the participation in negotiations is useless and contrarily, it sends the message that the negotiations are taking place without any perspective and without any positive outcome”, he stressed.

Omirou also said that the current period is very crucial for Cyprus due to the developments in the Cyprus problem and the economic crisis, stressing that it is our duty is to continue the struggle for a just solution of the Cyprus problem and to find the way out of the crisis.

House President sent the message that if Turkey wishes to continue its EU course, Ankara should cooperate to find a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the principles of the international and European law. At the same time, Omirou sent the message to our EU partners that they should press Turkey to respect the Republic of Cyprus and safeguard the values and principles upon which the EU was founded.

The position of the Greek Cypriot side is that before talks can begin, a Joint Declaration should be issued to record the basic parameters of the solution on the basis of previous High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1997 and UN resolutions, which provide for a bizonal bicommunal federation with a single sovereignty, one citizenship and one international personality.

Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu refuses to see the validity of such a joint declaration statement.

The last few weeks the UN have been meeting with the negotiators of the two communities in an effort to resume the talks with no result. Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and since then occupy 37% of this Mediterranean island`s territory.