PRESIDENT Glafcos Clerides said yesterday he was worried about Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s attitude towards the talks for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Clerides and Denktash are due to attend a third round of UN-led proximity talks in New York on May 23. Two rounds have already taken place but the third round is expected to be substantive.
But Clerides, for the second time in a month, appeared pessimistic about the progress.
"There are worrying signs because the things Mr Denktash used to set as preconditions to go to the talks, i.e. recognition, he is now using as conditions to proceed to negotiations," Clerides said yesterday. "He came to the talks but does not want to negotiate unless he is recognised."
The President was speaking to the dean and several professors of the Philosophical Department of the Athens University, who visited him yesterday.
Clerides also warned of the danger of the continued settlement of mainland Turks in the north without the Cyprus problem being solved, or if negotiations dragged on.
"Settlement in the north means part of Cyprus will not be Cyprus but an extension of Turkey in Cyprus," he said.
Clerides also stressed the need for internal unity among Greek Cypriots and appealed to all who opposed federation not to do so.
He stressed that the Greek Cypriot side did not have the luxury of choosing the solution it wanted.
"It is a great mistake to shout against federation and to voice disapproval against federation," he said.
The President said this would mean that the international interest in the Cyprus problem, which the government had worked hard to create, would dissipate at a time when such interest was unprecedented.
"And we, like the Turkish side, will be condemned in the same way as they are for seeking a confederation instead of a federation," Clerides said. "If we commit the same mistake it will be destructive to the Cyprus problem."
Another area in which Clerides appeared pessimistic concerned the EU, which he said did not appear to have a common policy on the Cyprus problem.
"The road is not easy and it is not easy because even Europe has no clear lines as a whole. Every country has its own views. What is needed is a common European policy concerning a solution of the Cyprus issue," he said.
Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou yesterday echoed the president, saying, "federation was not a choice for the Greek Cypriot side, but a compromise".
Papapetrou called on the international community to ask Denktash why he objected to a federal solution when in the past this had been acceptable to him.
On Monday, Denktash said there was "no proposal on the table other than our confederation proposal."
"It is obvious the Turkish side is making things difficult… and we would suggest that the international community turn its attention to them," Papapetrou said.
Papapetrou also responded to reports that Denktash might try to scupper the renewal of Unficyp’s six-monthly mandate in June.
He said the government’s position on the presence of Unficyp, a 1,200-strong force that patrols the 180km-long buffer zone, was well known.
"The presence of the UN force is the product of an agreement between the UN and the Republic of Cyprus in 1964 and there cannot be any change in this position," he said.
