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Statements by the President of the Republic after the conclusion of the talks in New York
After the conclusion of the talks at Greentree, New York, the President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias made the following statement:
“First of all permit me to say a few words about the meeting as such. You know very well that in the last two-and-a-half months that elapsed from the first to the second meeting, in our view, the invitation of the Secretary General was no justified, since no progress had been achieved. This is the truth. We have noted this in our letter to the Secretary General and at our private meeting with him. We made it clear that any progress achieved should be a significant progress, which would solve the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem and then we would discuss, as provided by the Security Council resolutions, the possibility of convening an international conference. These issues were made clear and I must say that they are included in the statement of the Secretary General today.
During the meetings, we had the honour to be with the Secretary General for six to seven hours. There were many discussions without again any progress achieved. The two sides insist on their positions. With regard to the issues of governance, because we believe that governance does not necessarily mean only the election of the executive power, there are differences also in the foreign relations, international relations, and the issue of the air space. We discussed the various issues and there was no convergence of views. Both sides maintain their positions.
On the property issue, you should know that in all the discussions held, the property issue is connected with the territorial issue. And I give credit to the Secretary General because in all of his interventions and positions, and in those of his aides and team, the connection of the territorial and the property issues is emphasized.
Some data were submitted by the T/C side, outside the deadline defined, which you can also find on the internet. There was a commitment undertaken by the two sides at the first meeting at Greentree to create a committee which would, confidentially, discuss specific data. Unfortunately, the Turkish side did not respond. The issue remains also in the statement of the Secretary-General that in 15 days the two sides must exchange specific and significant data concerning the property issue and, at the same time, discuss the territory issue. Not necessarily to present maps. And this is not what we are asking. We are asking for the T/C side’s intention as regards our basic demand for territorial adjustments. Namely, that 100.00 refugees since 1974 ought to be offered the possibility to return under Greek Cypriot administration and to have full ownership of their properties. This will greatly help us discuss with an open mind and heart the issue of property, which concerns the areas that will remain under Turkish Cypriot administration.
We are on hold. We will return. We are ready, we have all the necessary data, which I stress will be confidential; therefore do not press me to give you information, because I cannot. We will not give any information in Cyprus either.
Now, I come to the issue of the notorious international conference and the timeframes. I have made it clear to the Secretary-General, as it was decided at the National Council as well –the proposal was mine and you supported me on this-, that a timeframe for the international conference is not and will not be accepted. The Secretary-General in his statement expresses intentions but under certain specific preconditions and the precondition is that there will be important progress, which will meet with our approval, and which will be recorded by Mr Downer. In any case, we will have a say, and the Secretary-General will consult with us on whether this progress exists and on whether a conference will be convened, always under the precondition set by the UN Security Council, namely that the position of the Secretary-General will be consistent with the last resolution as well as with all the other UN resolutions regarding the convening of an international conference.
I would like to state sincerely that I leave, not being satisfied; I have nobody to blame. I expected or I wished, – I did not expect it much – that there would be progress. What can I say about the statement of the Secretary-General about little progress? If the fact that we agreed to exchange data is progress, let’s call it progress. In essence, however, on the various issues, unfortunately, no progress was achieved”.
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