The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ioannis Kasoulides, gave a Press
conference today, at the Ministry, in the presence of the Government Spokesman,
Mr Nikos Christodoulides, during which he gave a briefing and took stock of the
visit of the American Vice President, Mr Joe Biden, to Cyprus.
Particularly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed the complete
satisfaction of the Government, which considers the visit as historic and
particularly positive for Cyprus. The
recognition, as it has been expressed by official American lips, of the upgraded
role by Cyprus as a strategic partner in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean
and as a key player in the Middle East, said Mr Kasoulides, indicates the
historical importance of the visit.
It is important, stressed Mr Kasoulides, for Cyprus, as the advanced
outpost of the European Union (EU) in the Eastern Mediterranean region, to take
on a role in the efforts to combat asymmetric threats like extremism, terrorism,
the effort to traffic materials for weapons of mass destruction, people
trafficking and organized crime.
Talking about hydrocarbons, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that
it constitutes a foreign policy tool in the way Cyprus can work in bringing
closer together all the states of the area and in contributing as a country of
peace and security, in the achievement of cooperation between the countries of
the region that have differences amongst them.
Moreover, by choosing to comment now, after the completion of the
Biden visit, on some of the criticism heard and written the past few days, Mr
Kasoulides rejected the irrational claims that the timing of the visit is
related to the election period that we are going through.
Where the American Vice President’s visit to the occupied areas is
concerned, Mr Kasoulides pointed out that the Government acted on this issue on
the basis of a particular decision of the Ministerial Council, dated 9/5/2005,
under the presidency of the late Tassos Papadopoulos, which describes the
practice that must be followed in cases of meetings of foreign leaders with the
Turkish Cypriot leadership. “We
followed that practice precisely, which we demanded to be implemented and which
we negotiated through intense consultations with the White House”, said Mr
Kasoulides, pointing out that the Government was not going to allow the visit to
be shadowed by any events.
Commenting on the criticism for an alleged disregard of the role of
Russia, Mr Kasoulides pointed out that “nothing has spoiled the relations with
Russia, which respects our right to conduct foreign policy in the area we
belong, that is the EU area, to participate in decisions and to respect the EU’s
joint decisions, to contribute in these decisions not as a silent observer but
as an active partner in the decision making process.”
Referring to the issue of Confidence Building Measures, and
specifically to the issue of Varosha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that
the intention of the Vice President of the USA was to move forward with the
declared position of the US Government for the first steps of confidence
building to start, “among which the first step is the entrance of experts in the
fenced town of Famagusta to study and plan how the infrastructure of the
necessary public benefit projects could start.” This hasn’t been made possible,
he continued, because of the demands of the Turkish side, which asked that a
special reference was included that the specialists should either be from
abroad, or be Turkish Cypriots, with an explicit exclusion of Greek Cypriots.
“These demands were unacceptable and of a bad faith and for this reason I blame
Turkey’s approach, which has approved this stance,” Mr Kasoulides added.
Answering a question regarding statements by the US Vice-President
that Turkey has the will to move forward with the solution of the Cyprus
problem, Mr Kasoulides said that he has noted that there is this position in
Ankara’s rhetoric, but this will that is expressed in words, needs to be proved
also in actions.
Answering to another question about where Mr Biden focuses his
optimism when he refers to resolving the obstacles for the Cyprus Problem and
Confidence Building Measures, Mr Kasoulides said that today there are different
conditions regarding the framework in which the talks are being conducted. “We
have made clear the basis and the principles, we have agreed that we will talk
directly with Turkey, something which has its significance,” he said, and added
that we should underline the importance that Cyprus acquires as a factor of
stability and peace in the region.
Lastly, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs was asked to indicate
how Cyprus could become a connecting link in energy matters, he reiterated that
Cyprus could be useful in the transportation of natural gas which cannot take
place directly from countries of the region.
He also said that the policy of the Cyprus Government remains that the
main method of exporting natural gas is the creation of a terminal in Vasilikos,
adding that: “What we should take advantage of at this moment is the fact that
new planning is taking place in the EU, which takes into serious consideration
the Eastern Mediterranean reserves. We believe that we are in a better position
as a member of the EU, in a cooperation with neighbouring states, to be the
passageway of these reserves which will be many, if we all join forces towards
Europe. Either as markets, if they are beneficial, on a permanent basis, or in
the case of an emergency.”
