Serious
prospects are in the making for a substantive joint communiqué,
which satisfies the basic principles for a solution to the Cyprus
problem and will lead to the resumption of negotiations, the
President of the Republic Mr Nicos Anastasiades said today.
In
his remarks to the press, following his meetin:
“Today, I briefed the leaders of the parliamentary political
parties on the latest developments about the efforts to reach
agreement on a joint communiqué leading to the resumption of the
bicommunal talks for the solution of the Cyprus problem.
I depart this
afternoon for Athens, where tomorrow I will consult with the Prime
Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece on the latest
developments. I should note that the Greek government was kept
informed on a daily basis.
We are at a very
sensitive moment with regard to the course of our national problem
and I want to be very clear:
From the outset,
we set certain specific parameters for the resumption of a
substantive dialogue on the Cyprus problem, so that we could be led
to a viable and functional solution. We undertook a systematic effort
to convince the international community for the necessity of a
communiqué with a substantive content.
The
international community embraces this position of ours. Today, it
seems that serious prospects are in the making for a substantive
joint communiqué, which satisfies the basic principles for a
solution to the Cyprus problem and will lead to the resumption of
negotiations, not for the sake of the negotiations.
For me, what is
required is to secure a collective approach and the strongest
possible unity. That is why I suggest patience and self-restraint, so
that we will not be led astray toward possible baseless and
misleading interpretations.
With the
conclusion of the consultations, I intend to address the people of
Cyprus and inform them analytically, but also in depth, about the
actual facts. That is why I avoid commenting on what is being said.
At the same
time, I want to stress that the effort to reach agreement on a joint
communiqué is the beginning of a big and arduous effort to at last
achieve a solution to the Cyprus problem, and certainly the joint
communique is not the end.”
In response to a
reporter's comment that political leaders are asking him, through
their remarks, not to proceed toward negotiations, the President
said: "First, I said that I respect the various views, second,
as I have said, I will address the people of Cyprus providing the
real dimensions, but also the true content, of the joint communique,
based also on the advice that I have from the team of advisors that
were proposed to me by the parties."
Asked if there
is a response by the other side with regard to the joint communique,
the President of the Republic said that "we don't have a
response. We are at the stage of consultations of a big effort in
order to reach agreement on a joint communique. It seems that some
concerns that are expressed by our side, for example, on sovereignty,
also preoccupy, in a contrary way, the concerns of the other side."
Responding to a
question as to whether the text of the joint communique that has been
published is the actual one, the President said that when he
addresses the people he will analyze the real content of the
communique, as it is actually recorded on the basis expert opinions
and not on the basis of various interpretations.
Asked if the
text of the joint communique is being negotiated, the President said,
"No, as far as our side is concerned we said whatever we had to
say and it remains for the other side to respond."
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