President says Ankara’s stance lead to deadlock in Crans Montana Cyprus talks

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades has said that Turkey`s stance has lead to a deadlock at the Crans Montana talks last July, wondering whether any other country would accept the continuation of the anachronistic system of guarantees, or the presence of a foreign country`s army on its territory.

Addressing the Fighters Association of City and District of Limassol (SAPEL) reunion, in Limassol, the President said  that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots must create a viable and functional state, where both communities can live under conditions of peace.

The problem, he continued, is Ankara’s policy to hold control over the whole island.

And this is unfortunately the problem we face today and this was the reason why last July (in Crans Montana) a titanic effort to achieve a solution has lead to a deadlock, he stressed.

Noting that mutual respect is needed between the two communities, the President said that each community should recognize – since we have accepted political equality – that they can not claim to govern over the other.

He added that the worst of all is that unfortunately, the Turkish Cypriots, due to the Turkish occupation since 1974, the presence of the Turkish army, the presence of illegal settlers, or due to their economic dependence, they fully depend on  Turkey, which wants to continue the anachronistic system of guarantees, as well as the unilateral intervention rights, and have a permanent presence of the Turkish army on the island.

The President wondered whether any country would accept this, saying I wonder whether Lithuania, Estonia, the Baltic States or any other country of the former Eastern bloc, would ever accept a neighboring country, such as Russia, to be a guarantor of the Baltic States or whether any European country would need foreign guarantees.

These are the obstacles we face, he said, noting the determination of the Greek Cypriot side to continue the dialogue to reach a solution that would create a state, viable and truly independent, just like the UN Secretary-General has determined, that is a normal state, functional and totally in line with European principles and values’, otherwise, he said, the state will be a protectorate of Ankara.

‘Which political leadership would accept guarantees, unilateral intervention rights, military base, permanent presence of the Turkish army, or the veto right of a community – of which we do recognize political equality – but wants to have even more rights?’ he wondered.

He gave as an example the EastMed pipeline, wondering which would be the stance and the vote of the Turkish Cypriots should we decide to sell some quantities of our natural gas to Egypt ,when Ankara views Egypt`s current leadership as its biggest enemy?

“Would this  be a functional state? Is this what some people want me to accept?”,  he went on to say.

Dismissing the criticism of the opposition on an interview he gave to a Greek news site (lifo), he said that he has never referred to ‘two states’, noting that I spoke and talked about the necessary reflection that the Greek Cypriot political leadership should do, in case that Turkey continues its claims.

What it has to do, he continued, is to reflect on what is going to secure the peace, stability, prospect and the future of our country.

The Republic of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. A UN-backed Conference on Cyprus last summer in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana, aiming to reunify the island under a federal roof, ended inconclusively.