Statements by former AKEL General Secretary Andros Kyprianou:
It is obvious that certain forces and circles prefer the two states solution
Sunday 10 December 2023, “Haravgi” newspaper
Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership are proceeding virtually unhindered in the imposition of new fait accompli, Andros Kyprianou told “Haravgi” newspaper. The reason, in his view, lies in the prolonged deadlock following the collapse of the Crans Montana conference on Cyprus and the fact that a large section of the international community considers the Greek Cypriot side, at least, equally responsible for that failure. If there is to be any room to reverse this situation, there needs to be a resumption of substantive negotiations with the prospect of arriving at a positive outcome, something that is completely distant judging from the positions expressed by the Turkish side and from the way President Christodoulides is handling the Cyprus problem.
Andros Kyprianou notes that certain forces and circles within the Greek Cypriot community have not only become aware of these developments, but had predicted them. “We have been warning since 2017 to date. Unfortunately, not only did N. Anastasiades and his associates not take us into account, but they also accused us of allegedly adopting Turkish propaganda, which is a big lie. Today we are paying for price for the irresponsibility, mistakes, contradictions and intentions of Anastasiades and his close circle, including N. Christodoulides.
Let me add that a section of Greek Cypriots never accepted the Bizonal, Bicommunal Federation as a solution, which is precisely why they did not want us to succeed at Crans-Montana. It is obvious that some people prefer two states, without realising how disastrous it would be”.
Regarding the rampant purchases of Greek Cypriot property by foreigners in the occupied territories, Andros Kyprianou stressed that they not only complicate, but also make any attempt to resolve the Cyprus problem unimaginably difficult. He notes that this is also a result of the prolonged deadlock on the Cyprus problem and the lack of any prospect of a resumption of talks.
A.Kyprianou also expressed concern that these activities are now spreading to other areas and wondered whether anyone honestly believes “that we can seriously discuss a solution without the return of Famagusta and Morphou under Greek Cypriot administration?”
Furthermore, A.Kyprianou also expresses the view that the more these illegal actions intensify, the more difficult they will be to undo, and points out that unfortunately, apart from the fact that Nikos Anastasiades, through his contradictions, has contributed greatly to Turkey being relieved of any responsibilities, he has permitted time to pass by without making any effort to resume the dialogue.
A.Kyprianou recalls the rejection of the appeal issued by Akinci in April 2018 for the resumption of the talks from where they had remained at Crans Montana in 2017, with Anastasiades asking him whether he had Turkey’s permission to submit the proposal and asking what Guterres framework he was talking about.
Regarding the appointment of a UN envoy, A.Kyprianou believes that “the President’s tactics so far are very wrong”. He stressed that valuable time was wasted by Christodoulides asking for the appointment of an EU representative at a time when there was one since 2018, while now he is asking for the appointment of a UN representative. He also pointed out that if an envoy comes, with the current situation, he will only ascertain the deadlock.
The President of the Republic, A.Kyprianou added, should have sought to move the Turkish side away from the unacceptable two state position and convince [the international community] of its own credibility, its commitment to the agreed solution framework and to what has been agreed so far and its adherence to the Guterres Framework.
“The President should convince that he is ready to give incentives to Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, without this being to the detriment of the substance of the solution or the Greek Cypriots. This is extremely difficult and requires a lot of effort and consistency of purpose. AKEL’s December 2020 proposal can help towards this end if it is used.”