Christodoulides announces tripartite meeting for August 13

President Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday night announced he had accepted an invitation from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to attend a tripartite meeting with him and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on August 13.

Speaking at an event in Deryneia, he said the planned meeting had come about thanks to “our own persistent efforts, both in the direction of [Guterres] and the European Union, of course in cooperation with the Greek government.”

He added that the aim of the August 13 meeting would be the resumption of talks to solve the Cyprus problem.

“My response was of course positive, and I hope, as we have been informed so far, that there will be the same response from the Turkish side and that the holding of the meeting will lead to positive results which cannot be anything but the resumption of talks,” he said.

The Cyprus Mail contacted Ersin Tatar for comment but did not receive a response.

Continuing his speech, Christodoulides said “the road has one direction, because no solution is not a solution, because we do not compromise with division, because we know very well who is favoured by the passage of time and by stagnation.”

“My main concern is the end of the occupation, the liberation and the reunification of our country.”

He went on to say he has been “working tirelessly to break the deadlock” which has seen the Cyprus problem unmoved since the collapse of talks at Crans Montana in 2017.

With this in mind, he said he had undertaken “bold, specific, unilateral measures towards the Turkish Cypriots”, and added that a “positive message” had been sent to Turkey with the European Council’s resolutions on relations between Turkey and the EU; that they are “linked to developments on the Cyprus problem and the effort to solve it.”

He also said he had brought back to the table confidence-building measures proposed by former Presidents Nicos Anastasiades, Demetris Christofias, and Tasos Papadopoulos, with some of those concerning Varosha.

“It was in the context of our clear political will, the recognition of our credibility on the part of the international community, that I proposed direct contact between the two leaders or even the negotiators in the presence of the UN, or even the organisation of a five-party meeting” involving both Greece and Turkey, he said.

He added that “things were not easy”, but the appointment of Maria Angela Holguin as UN envoy showed that “the government’s efforts were successful”.

“That was the result of recognition, both by the UN and by the five permanent members of the Security Council, as well as by the EU, of our clear will to resolve the Cyprus problem, and it came after painstaking and coordinated actions,” he said.

He then added that the government is in this regard “continuing methodically and quietly, at all levels, and at all times.”

However, despite these efforts, he said, “there has been unfortunately so far a negative response from the Turkish side.”

“This does not satisfy me and does not serve our aims if stagnation is due to the Turkish side, because the point is for there to be positive developments,” he said.

Turning his attention to the matter of what will be discussed and what positions he will take, he said the return of Greek Cypriots to Famagusta is “a one-way street for the government”.

“The solution we envision has no losers, only winners, and among them will be our Turkish Cypriot compatriots, the vast majority of whom we consider to be victims of the Turkish occupying army,” he said.