President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades expressed hope on Saturday that as the Cyprus talks are set to restart next week, everyone will realise that without realistic proposals that will address the concerns of both the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots, it will not be possible to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem.
“I want to hope that Turkey will contribute in such a way that will aid the Turkish Cypriot leader to return to the negotiating table with proposals that will not serve the interests of third parties, but those of the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, that they will not put forward positions that will lead to disfunction of the state, but at the same time they will rid (the country) of the occupation and any guarantees or intervention rights of third parties,” the President told the Press in Paphos, where he attended a funeral.
Replying to a question on the continuous Turkish provocations, the President stressed that the Republic of Cyprus is a sovereign state and does not depend on anyone`s statements and will not accept to be blackmailed when it comes to exercising its sovereign rights.
In this framework, he said, we have awarded licenses to important companies worldwide and noted that everyone must know that a sovereign country must exercise its rights taking into account the interests of its people.
The 3rd Licensing Round was officially concluded on 6 April with the signing of the exploration and production sharing contracts, as well as the hydrocarbons exploration licenses, for blocks 6 and 8 in Cyprus` EEZ.
The consortium of Eni Cyprus Limited and Total E&P Cyprus B.V. is licensed for Block 6, while Eni Cyprus Limited for Block 8. On 5 April Cyrpus` government signed a contract for Block 10 with consortium ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 6 April issued a press release threatening that it will not allow hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation in areas under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus.
The UN have announced that talks for a Cyprus solution will resume on April 11 after a lull since mid February when Akinci walked out of a meeting, claiming that a House decision to commemorate, briefly, in school a 1950 referendum advocating union with Greece was in fact a shift in the long standing position of the Greek Cypriot side for a bicommunal, bizonal federal solution in Cyprus.
President Anastasiades had described the decision “wrong”, saying the timing was not right. Akinci said he would not return to the negotiations unless the decision is revoked. The House voted Friday on an amendment on the bill, which essentially annuls the earlier House decision.
