President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades criticised on Sunday the Turkish side for toppling the appointment by the UN Secretary General of a special envoy on Cyprus, as a successor of Jane Hall Lute. Antonio Guterres met with President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in NYC on September 27 to decide the new steps forward in the Cyprus peace process and although the announcement of an envoy was expected, the UN since then have not issued any statement on the matter.

Anastasiades, who was speaking on Sunday in Astromeritis village, during an event organised by the occupied municipality of Morphou, in the presence of the political and religious leadership and officials from abroad, said that since the Crans – Montana conference in 2017, our side has taken initiatives for the resumption of the talks but Turkey’s stance has not allowed the dialogue to resume.

As regards the UN envoy the President said that the truth needs to come out adding that hypocrisy is not to the benefit of anyone or hiding the facts is also not to the interest of the international law. He said that the UNSG made it clear during the meeting in NYC that he could not accept the appointment of a personal envoy because China and Russia objected to that as they noted that a problem that is before the UNSC cannot see the appointment of a personal envoy. Therefore, he said, the SG said that he would appoint a special envoy to refer to the SC.

He said that this is what the UN resolutions provide for as well as the SG’s mandate. Anastasiades criticised Turkey’s and Tatar’s stance on the matter and Ankara’s provocations in the region not only towards Cyprus and Greece. He also questioned Ankara’s opinion on exclusive economic zones and its focus on the international law, pointing out that Turkey never accepted the Law of the Sea.

President Anastasiades replied to criticism as regards the natural gas reserves or the concerns of the Turkish Cypriots saying that so far we have made everything possible to address and meet their concerns, with bold ideas for which he has been judged negatively. He said that his proposal on the return to the 60’s Constitution does not provide for a single state. He reiterated that we seek an evolution of the Cyprus Republic to a bizonal, bicommunal federation based on the High Level agreements, the UN resolutions as well as the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the EU acquis.

The President said that it was because of Turkey’s stance that Crans – Montana talks did not yield results adding that since then we turned to the UNSG with proposals for the resumption of the dialogue from where it left off but Turkey was buying time in order to get rid off the then Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and impose Ersin Tatar.

He pledged his determination, readiness and political will to return to the negotiating table for a solution that will be viable and just and it would not turn Cyprus to a protectorate of Turkey or would lead to political inequality.

The President said that the international community now realises that Turkey is an aggressive force and hoped that soon we will be able to sit in a new round of substantive dialogue for the reunification of our country, pointing out that this is a duty owed to all those who sacrificed their lives for the Cyprus Republic.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Numerous rounds of talks under the UN aegis failed to yield results.