Draft transcript of Espen Barth Eide's statements after the
meeting
with the President of the Republic Mr Nicos Anastasiades
I had a very good and constructive meeting with Mr. Anastasiades as I
had yesterday with Mr. Akinci. As you will have heard from the two leaders when
they came out of Tuesday's meeting, they both described that meeting as very
constructive. That's absolutely my sense as well. The process is in a good shape
and hard work is being done in order to take these many understandings that have
developed over the last months into black. It is moving in the right direction.
The leaders are showing a strong personal dedication to this and what I am
discussing now between Tuesday's meeting and Monday's meeting is how do we best
continue this good momentum that we had on Tuesday.
And I very much would like to underline that contrary to what some people seem to have thought, there is no letup in the process, the political circumstance has not changed the determination of either leader and they are working hard to achieve more convergences, so that we prepare for a later phase where the final issues can be tackled. And we are still basically working inside the four known chapters.
Q: To which persons are you referring to when you said that some people seem to have though there is no letup in the process?
A: I was referring to a sense that I picked up in media commentaries over the last weeks, that the process was stalled. I think we all would like to say more what we did on which day and what achievement. It cannot happen. First I have to refer to the leaders' own choice which is that they will explain the whole package if and when it's there. My role is not say more than the leaders want to say, but I also want to again underline that when things are inter-dependent it is difficult to take out one piece and explain it independently of the other issues.
Q: What is the involvement of the World Bank in the whole process?
A: I am extremely happy about the level and the quality of the support that the leaders are getting through us from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and also the European Commission. They are working hard, they are working in a dedicated way and it has given all of us, I mean the leaders and myself a strong base for bringing the economic aspect of the settlement into the talks.
Q: Are they ready to pay for the solution?
A: I would strongly suggest that we start thinking about something else than the so called cost of the settlement. Because we are working on economic support, and I have only over the last five days been speaking to the US Assistant Secretary Nuland, to the Foreign Minister of France, the UK Foreign Secretary. We are working constantly on this issue. But the main issue is to have a solution that in itself is economically viable, that creates growth and wealth and there is more money there that then one of investment in making the solution happen.
So while we are working on the economic support, when we talk about the economic aspects of a settlement the main issue is to have a credible, functional federal state that can unlock the potential that Cyprus has for more growth than what happens on either the Republic of Cyprus side or the northern part today. And that's what the World Bank and the IMF are principally doing. And on top of that of course they are looking into issues of property settlement and so on, which will all know that it is a broader issue than just that. And on that front I think the potential is quite good.
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