PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday reiterated that Turkey is not ready to solve the Cyprus problem and accused the neighbouring country and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu of engaging in a blame game.
Speaking after a 20-minute meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in New York, Christofias said Turkey, through Eroglu, was playing a communications game in a bid to pass on the blame.
“I spoke very honestly, voicing our view regarding Turkey’s stance, the communications game played by Turkey and Mr. Eroglu, and the effort to transform this game into a blame game, something we consider unacceptable and which proves that Turkey is not ready to solve the Cyprus problem at the moment,” Christofias said.
The president said the UN Secretary-General has promised to ask the Turkish leadership to be more decisive in going from talk to action.
“The UN Secretary General has pledged that he will meet the Turkish leadership and that he will ask them to translate their words into deeds. This was my request to the Secretary General and he replied affirmatively,” he added.
Christofias expressed his sincere intention to continue the dialogue aiming to solve the Cyprus problem, noting however that the dialogue must be substantive and that there should not be any proposals that will result to a setback of the talks.
“I have informed him that the Turkish side’s proposals on property, despite their nice wrapping, take us back further than the Annan plan as concerns property,” the president said.
Christofias said he repeated his own proposal of linking the property chapter of the talks, with territory, in a bid to facilitate the procedure.
“One cannot talk of solving the property issue without knowing the fate of territory,” Christofias said.
The president said he stressed to Ban, the Greek Cypriot side’s good will to solve the Cyprus problem as soon as possible because “it is us, it is our people who are suffering and not Turkey.”
He added that the Greek Cypriot side has already made good will moves towards the Turkish Cypriots and “we have no regrets.”
“Whatever stays in Cyprus will belong to Cypriots, but we are in no mood to make any concessions to foreigners, certainly including Turkey,” Christofias said.
Christofias said that Turkey’s role to efforts for a settlement is a decisive one and that is why that UN Secretary General and others, including the EU, must direct their efforts towards Turkey.
