President: Reasons for suspending negotiations “have not ceased to exist”

The reasons for which the Greek Cypriot side has suspended its participation in the Cyprus talks have not ceased to exist, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday, adding that the resumption of the talks for a Cyprus settlement depends on the stance of the other side.

Speaking after a religious service, in Nicosia, to commemorate the Greek Independence Day, the President said moreover that the Day`s message is one of “unity and struggle”.

Asked about a possible announcement by the UN for the resumption of the settlement talks in Cyprus, the President said that the reasons for which the Greek Cypriot side has suspended its participation in the negotiating table have not ceased to exist, since the Turkish NAVTEX is still in force, and the Turkish research vessel “Barbaros” is still in the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus.

Therefore, he went on to say, any announcement for resuming the dialogue will depend on the willingness of the other side to restore the status quo ante, prior to violating the international law and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Speaking on today`s commemoration of the start of the Greek independence struggle, in 1821, President Anastasiades noted that the celebrations that take place in Cyprus today prove that the links between mainland Greece and Cypriot Hellenism are inseparable.

President Anastasiades has suspended his participation in the talks, following a Navigational Telex or NAVTEX, issued by Turkey in October last year, as Turkish the seismic research vessel “Barbaros” violated the Republic’s exclusive economic zone, conducting seismic exploration activities for hydrocarbons, in areas licensed to international companies by the Republic of Cyprus.

Repeated calls for the withdrawal of “Barbaros” went unheeded by Ankara, which announced in January the NAVTEX`s extension until April 6, 2015.

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.