Ready for any eventuality in Geneva, spokesman says
January 7th, 2017 Philip Mark Cyprus Mail, Cyprus Talks,
Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides
The government was ready to deal with any eventuality in Geneva, spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Saturday.
Speaking to journalists at the presidential palace, when asked to comment on the contents of the letter sent by Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci to the UN Secretary General, he said that “without any appetite for confrontation, the contents of the letter by Mr Akinci… do not correspond to reality, or what was agreed on December 1, with developments confirming what I’m saying.”
“This is also the reason that the EU will be present and will have a substantial role in the process in Geneva. The EU does not refer to the announcement of December 1. The EU will be present because the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state,” he added.
Christodoulides said the joint declaration of February 11, 2015, refered very specifically to the Republic of Cyprus. “Cyprus is a member state of the EU and the UN and will continue to be so, and it is within this framework that the republic of Cyprus will participate in the processes,” he said.
“The Republic of Cyprus is one of the parties to the treaty of guarantee and the subject cannot be discussed, or any decisions taken, without the participation of the Republic.”
The spokesman said the Greek Cypriots were going to Geneva in absolute seriousness, with a readiness to find solutions that will allow for optimism for a positive result but certain things could not escape the principles and values of the EU itself.
Christodoulides said President Nicos Anastasiades would be contacting the new secretary general of the UN, in the late afternoon of Sunday and that the government was fully informed by the Greek government, through its foreign minister Nikos Kotzias of what was said in the important meetings which took place in New York.
Asked if from the briefings the government had received, there was any change in Turkey’s attitude, the spokesman said that there was some information as regards both matters of substance and procedure, relating to who would represent Turkey. The seriousness of the moment forces us to expect to see in practice when the conference on Cyprus starts. That’s when Turkey will be judged, for the first time we will find ourselves opposite Turkey to discuss this specific subject,” he said.
“We are ready to deal with any eventuality. We have prepared alternative scenarios, according to the behaviour of the others taking part. Most important is that we are ready to find the solutions, which at the same time cannot get away from the framework of the principals and values of the EU”.
Asked about the possibility of Turkey’s president attending the conference, Christodoulides said what was important was what would be brought to the negotiating table, not whether Turkey’s president was there or not.
Asked if any members of the UN Security Council had expressed an interest in attending, he said that the government had received messages, particularly from the permanent members of the council, indicating they would be in Geneva.