Anastasiades meeting ambassadors

President Anastasiades has been having various meetings with ambassadors of UN Security Council members in Cyprus. On Friday he met with the American ambassador, while today he had successive meetings with the ambassador of Russia and the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom and tomorrow he will meet tomorrow with the Ambassadors of China and France.

In a written statement the Government Spokesman, Christos Stylianides said that during these meetings Mr Anastasiades repeated the need to reach an agreement on a joint statement, which he said “will define clearly and without any trace of doubt the basic principles for the solution of the Cyprus problem, principles, which have repeatedly been recorded in a number UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus”.

He specifically recalled that the most recent UN resolution of 30 July 2013, refers to resolution 1251 of the Security Council, which establishes that the solution to the Cyprus problem will be based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as this is defined in the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, with one single sovereignty, one single international personality and one a single citizenship.

The spokesman also pointed out that the resolution expresses the need for the adoption of confidence-building measures and calls for and expects an agreement on such measures.

“It is self-evident that what is expected from the United Nations is to promote the implementation of the relevant decisions and resolutions of the Security Council, as the Charter of the Organization foresees”, he said.

“The proposals of our side are fully consistent with the above resolutions and decisions of the United Nations and correspond to the concerns of the Greek Cypriots, without ignoring the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, creating in this way a new dynamic but also a new prospect in the dialogue that is under way. We want to hope that there will be an proportionate response by the Turkish Cypriots, so that the dialogue is conducted more effectively.”

He expressed the hope that the United Nations will meet their obligations as these emanate from the above resolutions, in order to create the prospect for the meeting of the two leaders and for the dialogue on substance, so that we are led to a solution of the Cyprus problem shortly.

Concluding he mentioned that everything that has transpired as regards Mr Downer would will be discussed at a private meeting he will have with President Anastasiades on Wednesday.

Bagis: We are near a solution

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that Egemen Bagis, Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator, has said that positive developments are happening on the Cyprus problem.

In statements yesterday to a television station, Bagis said that at the moment no chapters are closed, because of an EU decision providing that no chapter will be closed as long as the Cyprus problem is not solved. He added, inter alia, the following:

He added that he hoped that the chief negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side will soon be going to Ankara and that of the Turkish Cypriot side will go to Athens and that “a new UN plan, like the Annan Plan, perhaps a Ban Ki-moon Plan, will emerge.”

He added that if the Cyprus issue is solved, we are at the point of being able to easily open 12 chapters and close 10 chapters in Turkey’s negotiations with the EU. We are at the point of passing some issues with a little work and further increasing that number.”

Eroglu: Turkish Cypriot side is ready to agree on a mutually accepted joint statement

Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi reports that the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has said that the Turkish Cypriot side is ready to agree on a mutually accepted text of a joint statement and added that the Turkish side’s “constructive proposals” on this issue are still on the table.

In a written statement issued yesterday, Eroglu said that the “joint statement text exercise” should not be prolonged any further.

“We are ready to hold the meeting of the leaders, which will launch the negotiations from the point they were left, even without the joint statement that has been turned into a precondition by the Greek Cypriot side. Come and let us continue the negotiations from the point we were left and reach the comprehensive solution which the two peoples expect from us in the first quarter of 2014”.

Eroglu said that the Turkish side supports UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s expectation in the direction of determining the date of the meeting between the leaders that will launch the negotiations. He added that in his statement of 1 November 2013, Ban Ki-moon ascertained important things regarding the point reached in the efforts exerted in Cyprus for finding a just and lasting comprehensive solution within the framework of his good offices mission. He noted that the expectation of the UN Secretary- General regarding the resumption of the negotiations and his warning that a limited window of opportunity exists, underlined once more that the waste of time in the negotiations must end.

He said that the Turkish Cypriot side does not share the Greek Cypriot “attacks” made against the UN Secretary-General because of his correct ascertainments.