6/2/14

Statement by the President of the Republic of Cyprus


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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