Turkey’s stance the reason for non solution Anastasiades says

Turkey’s intransigent stance and its persistence on the continuation of the guarantees system and the maintenance of Turkish troops in Cyprus, did not allow for a compromise to be found at the Cyprus talks in Crans-Montana, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Sunday.

Speaking at the national memorial service for the hero Evagoras Papachristoforou, the president said that the Greek Cypriot side had made every effort to achieve a solution of the Cyprus problem during the talks in Switzerland.

Unfortunately, he said, despite the efforts, Turkey, once more, maintained the same stance it holds for 43 years now, regardless of who would be the President, or which would be the policy of the Greek Cypriot side.

Noting that progress was achieved and hopes were high, he said that in the end it was ascertained that the main reason for the non-achievement of a solution was no other than the Turkish policies, aspirations and attitude.

Those involved in the efforts to reach a solution, must finally realise that the creation of a truly independent, sovereign and normal state in Europe can not go hand in hand with the continuation of the anachronistic system of the 1960 guarantees or any intervention rights or any dependence of any of the two communities.

The president reassured that he would continue to express the willingness of Cypriot Hellenism, for the creation of those circumstances that would allow for the resumption of the dialogue adding that those who have influence on Turkey should prepare the Conference on Cyprus in such a way, so that we are not faced with the same circumstances as in Crans-Montana, where it was necessary ‘in one night to determine if and to what extent the Turks meant what they were saying to their interlocutors or publicly, through a positive rhetoric”.

He added that the efforts of the Greek Cypriot side were focused on creating a viable and functional state without occupation troops or guarantees, a European state that will function just like any other EU state.

‘We seek for a solution that would allow Cypriots to decide on the future of their country and not on the basis of the policies of any third country and, in particular Turkey”, he concluded.

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.