The President of the Republic Nikos Anastasiadis left open the possibility of vetoing the positive agenda of the European Union towards Turkey and the adoption of new sanctions against it, in an interview given on Tuesday to the Greek service of the news network Euronews.
President Anastasiadis noted that depending on how Turkey behaves, "nothing is ruled out", referring to anything that will cause costs, whether this is a veto on the positive agenda or these are measures that should be adopted by Europe. At the same time, he stated that special attention is needed "because in Europe, unfortunately, there are interests above principles and values".
Referring to yesterday's statement by EU High Representative for Russia Varos, he said that theoretical solidarity is on the one hand a positive message, but if not accompanied by practical measures it remains, as a statement of intent with no result. He added that they discussed with the Greek Prime Minister how it is possible to activate the European Union, but also through the international relations that the countries have developed to see how this Turkish aggression and the revisionist attitude of Turkey can be effectively dealt with.
At the same time, the President of the Republic of Cyprus criticized both the United Kingdom and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar.
Asked about Ms. Spechar, who reportedly spoke at the UN Security Council about resolutions that should not be restrictive, said President Anastasiadis: "It is no coincidence that Mr Erdogan is intimidated, because there are some who have the impression that he can they even translate the resolutions, the purity of the United Nations resolutions ". He also said that similar interpretations or similar efforts made by Britain to find a compromise would not help.
"Ideas that are considered to be bridging, but which in essence gradually satisfy what Turkey is seeking. "As a result, instead of restricting arbitrariness, they increase revisionism, aggression, and illegal actions in general," he said.
Regarding the proposal of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a new informal meeting between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot side, President Anastasiadis said that this will become clear in September when he will meet with Mr. Guterres. He stressed, however, that "the Secretary-General should not be looking for common ground, because the United Nations resolutions already exist and are", sending the message that that is how far his terms of reference go. He also stressed that he is ready to start a dialogue from where he left off in Crans Montana in 2017.
Regarding the return of the people of Famagusta, the President noted that the efforts were with the solution of the Cyprus problem, the performance of Famagusta, as the UN resolutions provide, to be under the administration of the United Nations, in order to allow the legal residents to return under UN administration, which did not happen due to Turkish intransigence. Asked about the danger of losing property in Famagusta forever, he said he did not think the lawlessness would achieve the goals set by Turkey.
"I want to hope, I want to believe that, through actions, through actions, through the intense injustice caused by Turkey's behavior, there will be reactions to get justice done," he said.
Asked about the Crans-Montana talks, he said he had never left Crans-Montana and that the reason for the failure was Turkey's intransigence and insistence on continuing guarantees, or the permanent presence of Turkish troops and the establishment of a military base.