President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday he hoped British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will convey the messages and positions explained to him on how there can be an agreement that will be acceptable by both communities in Cyprus, when the latter meets Turkish President Tayip Erdogan in Ankara.

The President was speaking to the press after his meeting with Johnson and concluding his visit to New York. Ansatasiades was headed to Rome to attend the festivities for the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Rome Convention that created the European Economic Community.

Describing his visit as completely successful, the President said “the first part, as far as the Investment Forum is concerned, was extremely important and I consider it an absolute success. During the forum more than 300 participants had the opportunity to hear about the prospects for secure investments in Cyprus, and there was interest from big Energy companies and Investment Funds”.

Regarding the political part and the meetings he had with the UN Secretary General, the Foreign Minister of Slovakia and President of the forthcoming 72nd UN General Assembly, and the British Foreign Secretary, Anastasiades said he had the opportunity to “explain difficulties and problems that we face” in the Cyprus talks.

These, he explained, concern the functionality of the state, the future security of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, and more generally problems, that if not resolved in the right way, ie on the basis of the principles and values of the EU and the acquis, then it is not possible to reach a solution that will become acceptable by either himself or the Greek Cypriots.

Anastasiades said he was confident that by explaining our positions clearly, they were listened and completely understood.

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 one a year 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.

Apostolos Zoupaniotis