PRESIDENT Christofias yesterday said he had no intention of standing for re-election if he failed to solve the Cyprus problem. If, on the other hand, there was a settlement he implied that he could seek office again.
He could not have made his commitment to a settlement more convincing than by linking it directly to his political future. It backed his assertion that the main reason he stood for the presidency was to solve the Cyprus problem and that he would consider it a failure if he did not achieve his objective. Although he had said these things before, at different times, it was the first time he had been so persuasive.
The president displayed the self-assurance of a man on a mission throughout yesterday’s news conference, giving well-argued and rational answers. He has not always shown such a level of self-assurance when responding to questions about the peace talks, often taking a defensive or negative approach that gave the impression that he lacked the determination to go all the way.
These fears were dispelled yesterday as he tackled every question head-on. He took a swipe at all those who promoted the idea that the problem could be solved in the courts by the mass submission of property claims, stressing that nothing could replace a political solution. He also defended his proposal on the rotating presidency, making it clear for the nth time that he had no intention of withdrawing it.
He spoke clearly even on the more contentious issues.
He was not opposed to the issuing of a joint statement about the progress of the talks, as long as it did not take the form of an interim agreement. This was also a snub to his government ally DIKO which had announced a day earlier that a joint statement “poses great dangers.” Perhaps it was a sign that the pandering to DIKO is over.
He also revealed that consultations were under way for the preparation of an ‘international conference’ on Cyprus. Christofias has issued a counterproposal to the Turkish prime minister’s call for a four or five-party conference, suggesting instead that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council participate along with the EU, Greece, Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus plus representatives of the two communities on the island. Christofias had objected to the five-party meeting because it would upgrade Talat’s status, but his proposal aims to get around that.
Of course, there was an immediate, negative reaction to the news from the most, unlikely quarters – the moderate DISY. The other parties are certain to follow suit, but it seem Christofias has made up his mind that keeping everyone happy was no longer a concern. We hope the self-assurance is no flash in the pan and we will see a lot more of it in the days ahead.
