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President says he refuses to enter blame game

04/09/2017 09:20
President Nicos Anastasiades has said that he refuses to take part in a blame game relating to the Cyprus peace talks, reiterating that he has never linked the talks with next year’s presidential elections.

The President has also described as "unacceptable" remarks by the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community about a two-state solution.

“I would not wish to get involved in a blame game, in the sense that they (Turkish Cypriots) have no other alternative than to be led back to plans of 1956 and of 1963-64, which, as they claim, materialised in 1974 as a result of our own doing,” the President said, according to a PIO press release.

Intercommunal fighting broke out in the mid 1960s, three years after Cyprus gained its independence. The Turkish Cypriots withdrew from government and lived in enclaves. In 1974 Turkish troops invaded Cyprus on the pretext of protecting the Turkish Cypriots, following a short-lived coup engineered by the military junta, then ruling Greece, and of restoring the constitutional order. Constitutional was restored within weeks of the July 20, 1974 Turkish invasion.The Turkish military continues to occupy the island’s northern part and refuses to withdraw, in spite of repeated calls by the UN, the EU and other international organisations.

The President reiterated that Akinci should consider that it is not possible to accuse those whose property he holds and those whose human rights are being violated because they are called to accept any demand put forward by the Turkish Cypriot community for preferential treatment, something which cannot be found in any constitution around the world.

Asked whether he sees a repetition of the peace process or whether any developments should be expected after February’s presidential elections, the President noted that “in no way do we link the presidential elections with the process for the solution of the Cyprus problem.”

He reiterated that he has made it known that he is ready at any moment to return to the negotiating table provided certain prerequisites are met, which the UN Secretary General himself refers to in his proposals outline.

“It is not up to us,” he pointed out. An apparent reluctance seems to be evident in all parties involved, he noted. On the part of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot side, he added, there are statements about a process outside the UN parameters and at the same time they talk about the need to live side by side.

What is important, according to President Anastasiades, is that the whole process is prepared well so that there is no repetition of a conference which would cause high expectations among the people only to dash these expectations if the process collapses due to lack of sufficient preparation.

The latest round of UN-peace talks commenced at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana on June 28, but in the early hours of July 7, it was announced that the Conference on Cyprus ended without an agreement.

The President described as “unacceptable” the fact that Greek Cypriots were not allowed to hold a religious service in the Turkish occupied church of Ayios Mamas, in Morphou, to celebrate the saint’s name day, something which has been taking place for over a decade now. The Foreign Ministry would report it to EU member states, the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council, he noted.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The latest round of UN-peace talks ended inconclusively on July 7 and all parties involved are in a period of recollection. Talks held under the auspices of the UN aim at reuniting Cyprus under a federal roof.