Tassos says real dialogue needed to resolve Ledra dispute
ONLY DIALOGUE can help resolve the crisis over the opening of the Ledra Street crossing point, President Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday.
The President was responding to the UN Security Council’s resolution passed on Wednesday, which expressed concern over the differences that have arisen between the two sides in Cyprus over the opening of Ledra.
As part of the work on the north side of the Green Line, the Turkish side began to construct a pedestrian bridge crossing Ermou Street that would, the government says, allow them to maintain military control of the area.
It is also a violation of the status quo, the government says.
UNFICYP has asked the Turkish side to call a halt to the work until the problem could be solved through dialogue but work is continuing unabated on the Turkish side.
Papadopoulos said great effort on the part of the Greek Cypriot side had gone into ensuring that the Security Council report had emphasised the fact that the Turkish side was engaging in construction work.
He said it was obvious from the report that both sides were not being equally blamed for the deadlock.
“The resolution calls upon both sides in Cyprus to make efforts and solve the problem that arose at the Ledra Street crossing point. The resolution does not equate both sides regarding responsibility for the deadlock,” said Papadopoulos.
He said the only way to solve the problem was through dialogue, “provided that the fundamental principles set by us are met”.
The Greek Cypriot side has submitted a proposal for solving the problem, which includes a freezing of all work and removal of the bridge. However the Turkish side has rejected this proposal.
“Great efforts have been made so that the word ‘construction’ of the bridge remains in the text. Some countries wanted to delete the clear reference about the constructions of the occupation army”, Papadopoulos said.
Commenting on the Security Council’s report in general, which renews the mandate of UNFICYP for another six months, Papadopoulos took issue with a reference to the violations listed in the previous reporting period.
He said the stunt by Cypriot MEP Matsakis in taking down a the flag from a Turkish observation post at Louroudjina could not come under the same category as the organised violations carried out by the Turkish forces.
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