Anastassiades: side-by-side with government at critical time

By a Staff Reporter

DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades said yesterday his party would stand side by side with president elect Tassos Papadopoulos in his efforts to reach a settlement on the Cyprus question.

Anastassiades was speaking after a visit to AKEL headquarters, where he met with party leader Demitris Christofias. He stressed this was a time for unity and not for party differences.

“In this historic period, there should not be any separation between government and opposition parties,” Anastassiades said.

“We would like to assure President Papadopoulos and Mr Christofias that as a responsible political party we are ready to co-operate in full so all of us can carry the burden of a necessary yes or no.

“By exchanging our views we can build a basis in order to face any developments,” he added.

Anastassiades said the third version of the plan would be discussed today at the National Council, which would be briefed on its details.

“Historic responsibilities should be taken in critical times by both the government and the opposition,” he said.

“We are talking about the future of our country and not the fate of a political proposal that will not have consequences on the island.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.