AKEL was the hosting party of the meeting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties

AKEL was the hosting party of the meeting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties held under the auspices of the Slovakian Embassy in Nicosia.

The AKEL delegation was headed by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou, Stavri Kalopsidiotou, International Law expert, member of the Cyprus Problem Desk and member of the C.C. of the Party and Ilias Demetriou, Head of the Rapprochement Bureau of AKEL and member of the C.C. of the Party.

The Joint Communiqué of the leaders and representatives of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties follows:

“Leaders and representatives of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties participating in the bicommunal dialogue under the auspices of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Nicosia met on 26 June 2024 at the Ledra Palace Hotel.

They expressed opinions on the topic proposed by the hosting party AKEL: “The need for efficient initiatives aiming to break the prolonged deadlock in the Cyprus Problem”.

The representatives of the political parties have agreed that the ongoing lack of negotiations on the Cyprus Problem contributes to the solidification of the unacceptable divisive status quo. They believe that the current deadlock can be terminated with new initiatives that can be taken by the leaders of both communities. Additionally, the efforts of the UNSG Personal Envoy should be endorsed by all involved sides in a way that can be helpful to the resumption of the negotiation process for a federal solution based on the UN parameters. In this regard the political parties that met at the Ledra Palace expressed their interest to meet the UNSG Personal Envoy during her next visit to Cyprus.

Furthermore, the dialogue at the level of the society should be enhanced at many levels. The people of Cyprus should be approached by initiatives aiming to create empathy, cooperation and a federal culture. In this direction the promotion of the collaboration in fields like education, culture, sciences, environment and gender equality can contribute to this direction. The work of the political parties participating at the Ledra Palace meetings may contribute to this direction.

They also agree that peace needs to prevail in our region and an end to the war in Gaza is particularly essential more than ever before. A two state solution on the Palestinian issue, based on the relevant UN resolutions must be found the soonest. In this framework of these developments, Cyprus should be a bridge of peace in our region.

The next meeting of the leaders and representatives of the political parties will be held on Wednesday 31 July 2024 with United Cyprus Party as the hosting party.

Greek Cypriot Cyprus Green Party and Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party opted out of the Joint Communique.

Nicosia, 26 June 2024”