THE LEADER of the opposition, Nicos Anastassiades, met with President Demetris Christofias yesterday to mend fences after the unlikely alliance between the two took a battering last week.
Anastassiades described his meeting with Christofias as “very important and useful”. The tête-à-tête gave the DISY leader an opportunity to get updated on the progress of direct talks between Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. The two also exchanged views on potential problems that may come up during the talks.
“One thing satisfies me, the commitment to continue in the same determined way in the efforts to find a solution as soon as possible which will be acceptable to both Greek and Turkish Cypriots,” he said.
The DISY leader was riled last week when he came under attack from key figures within the President’s party, AKEL, for comments made over Turkish guarantees in the event of a settlement.
Anastassiades wondered out loud why certain quarters were making such a fuss over the guarantees, which sooner or later would appear on the agenda of the ongoing talks. His comments immediately sparked an outcry from government partners, EDEK and DIKO, as well as Evroko.
AKEL’s Nicos Katsourides waded in to the attack, accusing Anastassiades of jumping the gun and promoting “on-air” negotiations.
This reportedly infuriated the opposition leader, who has provided solid support to Christofias on the Cyprus problem since the latter took power in February. The same cannot be said for the President’s own allies, DIKO and EDEK, who have provided the bulk of criticism on the government’s handling of the Cyprus problem.
During yesterday’s patch-up meeting, the two leaders also discussed issues of internal government, including the “unwarranted attacks either from government coalition parties or my own party regarding certain interventions which the President feels are perhaps unfair,” said Anastassiades.
“I have reassured the President that as far as we are concerned, we will continue to follow the same responsible policy as long as he remains committed to his stance on the national issue,” he added.
However, the right-wing leader stated that his party would not sit quiet when it sees party favouritism in state organs or policies which contradict principles of the party.
Probed on reports that he was dissatisfied with the way direct talks are going, Anastassiades said he wouldn’t comment on things he did not say personally, noting that he was a straight-talking kind of guy.
“Whatever I have to say, I say it frankly, manly, and without pussy-footing and I don’t play around with leaked reports.”
Asked whether he was optimistic or pessimistic, the DISY chief said as long as dialogue is alive, “I want to hope that rationality will take hold of those who remain intransigent or hold extreme positions which don’t help to find a solution and I’m speaking about Turkey and of course Turkish Cypriot positions.”
