Introductory
statement by the President of the Republic,
Mr.
Nicos Anastasiades, at the UN press conference
First of all, I would
like to welcome you all to this Press Conference.
This year’s General
Assembly takes place in a period of great uncertainty and
instability, as we have not adequately risen ourselves to the task of
addressing new and long-standing threats that call international
order into question, such as: terrorism, annexation of territories
via illegal use of force, religious fundamentalism and forcible
displacement of millions of people.
What is more worrying is
that in the last few months, the extent and impact of those
challenges has intensified at the expense of human lives, individual
and collective social and economic prosperity, and, ultimately,
regional and international peace and security.
A case of point is all
that we are witnessing in Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Iraq,
particularly following the emergence of ISIS and the perpetration of
its untold atrocities that should not leave us indifferent or
passive.
During this week, I held
a number of very important meetings with the United Nations
Secretary-General, the Secretary of State of the USA, the Presidents
of Egypt and Palestine, the Prime Minister of Lebanon and the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the United
Kingdom.
I also had a working
lunch with the Permanent Representatives of the five permanent
members of the Security Council, and met with the executive boards of
the American Jewish Committee, the Cyprus Federation of America and
the Cyprus-US Chamber of Commerce.
At the same time, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, had a number of
very important meetings with his colleagues from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Georgia, Argentina, Angola, Norway, Malaysia and Liechtenstein. He
also met with the Secretaries-General of Commonwealth and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and with the US Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. He also took
part at the transatlantic dinner of the EU Ministers of Foreign
Affairs with the US Secretary of State and later on he will attend
the annual trilateral meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs
of Greece and Egypt.
During the various
meetings, issues of bilateral interest were discussed, views on
issues of common concern related to regional and international
developments were exchanged, and, of course, I had the opportunity to
brief my interlocutors on the Cyprus problem and the current state of
play.
Regarding the Cyprus
problem, above all, I, once more, stressed that for me there is only
one plan and end-goal: To reunite Cyprus and its people, restore the
fundamental freedoms and human rights of all its lawful citizens and
guarantee the effective functioning of Cyprus as an EU member-state.
What is more urgently
needed is the demonstration of genuine political will by our
compatriots to negotiate in good faith and by Turkey to contribute
constructively to the efforts to reach a settlement, not only in
theory and rhetoric, but through practical and substantial actions.
A
first step towards this direction would be the adoption of my
package-proposal for bold Confidence Building Measures that would
create
a win-win situation for all parties concerned, helping build mutual
understanding, confidence and good will, thereby serving as a
catalyst to the ongoing negotiating process. We do also expect the
sincere co-operation by Turkey on the humanitarian issue of missing
persons.
I also feel obliged to
underline that throughout all the meetings held the constructive and
stabilizing role that Cyprus assumes in its immediate neighbourhood,
particularly as regards the efforts of bringing together
hydrocarbon-producing and hydrocarbon-consuming countries, combating
terrorism, fighting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and providing humanitarian assistance, was widely acknowledged and
commended. This, yet again, was evident yesterday when Cyprus was
instrumental to the rescue of around 350 Syrian refugees from a
fishing boat stranded in the Mediterranean, thus averting a great
humanitarian catastrophe.
In concluding, I would
like to stress my appreciation to the UN Secretary-General for his
efforts in reaching a settlement on the Cyprus problem. In this
respect, I warmly welcome the recent appointment of his new Special
Adviser, Mr. Espen Barth Eide, and I look forward to work closely
with him, our Turkish Cypriot compatriots and Turkey, so as to
terminate the anachronistic division of my country.
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