Greek Cypriots won’t offer ‘earth and water’ at Greentree

THE GREEK Cypriot negotiating team will not be going to peace talks in Greentree in New York next week to offer “earth and water”, warned President Demetris Christofias yesterday. 

Speaking at an event organised by the Association of Craftsmen, Christofias said he cannot refuse the UN Secretary-General’s invite to go to New York, “despite the fact I have sent many messages to the SG with the basic question: what is the point of our presence in Greentree if none of the conditions that he put down in our previous meeting at the same place have been met?”

The president said the situation was “difficult”, expressing certainty that the Greek Cypriot team will come under pressure during the next phase of talks. 

“This is obvious and nobody can hide it,” he said. 

The president predicted talk about a multilateral conference, highlighting that the SG himself stipulated that this should only come after the internal aspects of a solution have been agreed. 

“But I want to assure all Cypriots that we are not going to New York to offer earth and water. We have our limits… We will not accept any arbitration or something close to it. We will not accept deadlines that some are alluding to,” said Christofias.

“We will not bend, but we will remain firm on principles in the Cyprus problem.” 

Christofias called for domestic unity and support to get through this challenging period. He referred to the need for a solution soon, noting that the situation “on the ground” was changing all the time. Greek Cypriots want a solution faster than foreigners do but “this does not mean we can accept solutions that will undermine the identity of all Cypriots and lead to a Cyprus under the control of Turkey”.