Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday he stood ready to attend an international conference on Cyprus but only if there were real grounds for a solution.
He added that the international Conference on Cyprus and the subsequent talks between deputies at Mont Pelerin have shown that this was not yet the case.
In an interview marking the two-year anniversary of his ascension to the premiership, Tsipras was asked whether “the time has come for the Cyprus problem to be solved”.
“Our views were from the start fully clear, in steady coordination with the Republic of Cyprus: adherence to the talks for a just and viable solution based on United Nations’ resolutions and the Republic of Cyprus’ capacity as a European Union member state, with the termination of the outdated system of guarantees and the departure of Turkish occupying troops,” he replied.
“In this framework, we have been making many efforts for months – especially our foreign minister – submitting specific proposals, so that a dialogue can be started with Turkey on these issues, even unofficially.”
Although these efforts did not pay off, Tsipras continued, the Geneva Conference on Cyprus at last kick-started the conversation at a political level, under the United Nations’ secretary-general and with the active participation of the president of the European Commission.
“But it is clear, as was seen at the conference and the [subsequent] Mont Pelerin talks at technical-diplomatic level, that there is no ground for a solution at this time,” he added.
“That being said, I think we should focus on our diplomatic effort, steering clear of brinksmanship and nationalistic cries, which we can see how dearly they are costing our neighbour [Turkey].”
Greece should intensify its contacts with other member-states and regional allies, the UN secretary-general and the president of the European Commission, and continue to promote the significance of a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.
“If it is seen that there is ground, I am ready to attend the talks myself,” Tsipras said.
Press reports following the international Conference on Cyprus in Geneva earlier this month suggested that UN officials were incensed with Greek foreign minister Nicos Kotzias, whom they blamed for the conference’s early curtain-call, and demanded that the conference resume at prime-ministerial level at a later date.
Meanwhile, Tsipras had a long telephone conversation with President Nicos Anastasiades, ahead of the Cypriot president’s Thursday meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci – their first tete-a-tete since Geneva.
According to government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, the purpose of the call was to “exchange views and coordinate actions ahead of the leaders’ meeting”.
