The first meeting yesterday of the National Council, under the presidency of Nikos Christodoulides, did not hold any surprises as to the orientation of the members’ concerns, with well-known views that are also expressed publicly.
However, through the discussion, some important issues were raised concerning the recent initiatives of the new President in Brussels and the effort he made to convey to Cyprus’ partners the need for a more active involvement of the EU in the process concerning the Cyprus problem. Through yesterday’s discussion, the briefing, and the positions, as recorded by Christodoulides, it is concluded that:
- At the moment, Christodoulides did not get clear answers on how the European institutions perceive their “different involvement” in a new attempt to resolve the Cyprus problem, as put forward by Christodoulides.
- Nikos Christodoulides insists on the assessment that the activation of the EU-Turkey can unlock the Turkish positions in order to have an interest in resuming dialogue on the Cyprus issue.
- At the level of dialogue, he reiterated the position that talks should resume from the point where they have been suspended in Crans Montana.
This position of Nikos Christodoulides was also publicly communicated in his statements by AKEL’s secretary general Stefanos Stefanou, who referred to “the urgent need to take specific and targeted initiatives in order to break the deadlock and resume negotiations from the point where they were interrupted in Crans Montana, preserving convergences and negotiating on the Guterres framework”.
As Stefanos Stefanou noted, “I asked the President of the Republic if, by the resumption of negotiations, he meant this thing and he replied positively”. “If this is the position of President Christodoulides and the government,” Mr. Stephanou said, “we welcome it because that is our perception. This was the position for a few years of the UNSG and the Security Council on the resumption of negotiations.”
It should be noted, however, that the leaders of the parties that supported Christodoulides did not take a position on the positive responses given by Nikos Christodoulides on the need to resume dialogue from where it has been interrupted, and in fact protecting all the convergences that have been achieved in the talks. In contrast to practices of the past, when they reacted with complete denial to reports of the convergences on the Cyprus issue in Crans Montana.
Euro-Turkish or energy?
Nevertheless, different views were expressed in the National Council on the content that a European Union initiative can take and how this initiative can best be used to relaunch the dialogue.
AKEL, through its Secretary General, supported the position, which it has been expressing all the previous time, that in contrast to the attempt to put on the table the Euro-Turkish issue as the incentive to unblock the Cyprus problem, which is almost impossible, since all member states will have to consent, the connection can be achieved by turning Turkey’s interest to return to negotiations in the field of energy.
AKEL’s proposal, which he reiterated again to the National Council, was also addressed by the president of DISY, Annita Demetriou. On the contrary, AKEL’s proposal on energy was attempted to be discredited by Nicos Anastasiades. This he had done repeatedly in the past when the party raised before it the need for an energy-based move towards Ankara in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Positive aztenta
Christodoulides, however, through the government spokesman, referred to moves by Nikos Christodoulides to break the deadlock on the Cyprus issue by promoting a positive agenda, cultivating a positive climate, and involving the EU by appointing a political figure.
Christodoulides asked all political forces to support and strengthen his efforts, so that the proposal for more active involvement of the EU, in support of the UN, as he clarified, becomes possible, “so that we can reach a situation of mutual benefit to all parties and be able to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem”, Said.
Mr. Letympiotis, in response to a relevant question, clarified that the proposal for a more active involvement of the EU is so that the impasse can be lifted and negotiations can resume in the agreed framework.
“If negotiations resume without the appointment of an envoy, obviously we will continue the negotiations,” he noted. He recalled, of course, that in the midst of the pre-election period in Turkey, there is no indication of a positive assessment on the part of Ankara in relation to the EU’s more active engagement.
He stressed, however, the importance of preparing the ground for this proposal to be implemented as soon as possible when the elections in Turkey are over.
In addition, he noted that Cyprus joined the EU with the primary aim of assisting in resolving the Cyprus problem.
“The accession concerned the whole of Cyprus and today our Turkish Cypriot compatriots benefit from many EU-related issues.
The message that we send at every opportunity and the Christodoulides through each of his own statements, is that the EU is our common home, it will be our common home after the resolution of the Cyprus problem, and through this activation of the EU we can only win”, he noted.
During the National Council, Christodoulides informed the parties of his intention to proceed with the creation of a National Security Council, which would have an advisory character.
As Nikos Christodoulides mentioned, he expects from the parties their views and suggestions on this proposal.
