The issues concerning Cyprus should not become a footnote to a wider Greek-Turkish dialogue to defuse the crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean, said the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN and permanent negotiator, Andreas Mavrogiannis. Speaking to KYPE, Mr. Mavrogiannis was asked about regional developments and said that Cyprus must maintain its own decisive role in matters concerning it, adding that “the EU should come to strengthen and not package us.” .
Referring to the ongoing diplomatic efforts to defuse the Greek-Turkish crisis through dialogue, with the involvement of the international community, Ambassador Mavrogiannis said that “it is a fluid situation”. He wondered what place the issues of Cyprus would have in him while expressing concern that “Cyprus could become the one that is easily sacrificed in the wider package”.
He also referred to a managerial approach by Turkish President Erdogan from some European countries, saying that in this way “all of Europe’s deterrent capabilities are completely lost”. “This approach is completely wrong and probably helps Turkey and no one else,” he added.
Regarding the efforts to defuse the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Permanent Representative of Cyprus said that “we must maintain our uniqueness and our own decisive role in the issues that concern us.” “As it is known, we manage our house. We negotiate our own issues. “And the EU must come to strengthen and not to package us,” he stressed.
“It simply came to our notice then. “In both Greek-Turkish and Euro-Turkish, the tendency is for the Cyprus issue to be lost and become a footnote,” he added.
Asked about the Cyprus issue, Ambassador Mavrogiannis told KYPE that “there may be room for some dialogue to resume negotiations, at least as far as the procedural part is concerned.”
He specifically referred to discussions regarding the composition or the way in which the parties involved will reach the informal meeting of the “5 + 1”, as announced after the informal meeting in Berlin, in November 2019, but also about how then proceed to substantive negotiation.
“We need this meeting where we will ratify the framework, in general, which includes the terms of reference and all the procedural” issues, such as where, when, how and with what participations the process will proceed, he said.
He went on to say that it is possible to reach a procedural agreement and that the Greek Cypriot side does not set any conditions for that. “Where the conditions come from by nature is how we start a substantive negotiation. “That is where the conditions need to be created, not to have the ‘Yavuz’ and not to act under the threatening state,” he said.
To start talks, he added, “the conditions must be created to allow negotiations. This is what the President of the Republic says and this is what the National Council had decided, since last year “.
Regarding the procedural agreement, he said that “there can be a flexibility so that you can say that there is a prospect of negotiation”.
In relation to the developments concerning the opening of the enclosed city of Famagusta, Ambassador Mavrogiannis referred to the huge disagreements that exist over the issue in the TRNC, such as between Mustafa Akinci on the one hand and Ozersay and Tatar on the other. , with the latter supporting “by fire and iron” the approach in favor of opening the city.
In this context, there is that part of the Turkish Cypriots who do not want to discuss the possibility of setting up a Joint Technical Committee, which was recently reiterated byAnastadise “unless they manage to set up such a committee, which instead of focusing on essence, to focus on the like, “he said.
The opening of Varos is not instantaneous, it is something that started and is happening at an intensive pace, he said and wondered “what is the moment when you say ‘so far and it does not provide’. I think we have overcome it “.
“Construction has already started in the northern part, where it will start on the coastal front of the enclosed area,” said Mr. Mavrogiannis. He also said that the real way to prevent developments is through the influence and pressure of the international community and we must achieve this, noting that this is a very difficult task.
Asked about the meeting of the Heads and members of the Technical Committees, which is scheduled for September 1, at the Presidential Palace, Mr. Mavrogiannis said that what we are interested in is “to continue and intensify the work of the Technical Committees, where possible “, but said that the approach should be to facilitate the negotiation process.
Anything done by the Technical Committees to improve everyday life is welcomed, he explained, but it cannot be part of a logic of normalization of the situation. During the meeting, he stated that the way in which the activity of the Technical Committees can continue and how their work is included in this specific period of time, pending the electoral process in the TRNC, will be examined.
As he said, the work of the Technical Committees must be continued, so that the distance between the two communities does not increase and the ground necessary for the resumption of negotiations is lost.
We will discuss all this with the Technical Committees, to see how we can reconcile the need to do things, but at the same time we need to be very careful not to lose focus on the negotiation process, he said, saying that “everything we do must be in service the promotion of the settlement process of the Cyprus problem “.
