Our goal is to resume the talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana on the basis of the agreed framework, said the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, on Wednesday, adding that “we are not discussing anything else.” At the same time, he confirmed a report that he will travel to Athens on Saturday to meet with Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in view of the five-party conference in Geneva.
The President of the Republic was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of his and his wife's tour with the Dutch royal couple along the ceasefire line in old Nicosia.
When asked about the expanded meeting in Geneva, the President of the Republic said that he had received the letter from the UN Secretary-General, adding that "we are preparing so that by going to Geneva a positive result will emerge". As he said, "our goal is one: the resumption of the talks from where they were interrupted in Crans Montana on the basis of the agreed framework. We are not discussing anything else".
"Taking into account international developments, what we see in relation to Ukraine, in relation to our region, I also heard some statements from the Turkish President in relation to Euro-Turkish issues, I was also informed by the President of the European Council after the telephone conversation he had with the Turkish President, if there is a response from Turkey within the framework that I have mentioned to you above, then, yes, we can expect positive developments," he noted.
"For our part, we will do everything possible, always within the framework I mentioned above," President Christodoulides underlined, emphasizing that "we are not discussing any other form of solutions or any moves or measures aimed at consolidating the occupation or building infrastructure for another form of solution to the Cyprus problem."
Asked about a report in "Phileleftheros" that he will travel to Athens next Saturday for a meeting with the Greek Prime Minister in preparation for Geneva, the President of the Republic said that he will be in Athens on Saturday, where he will have a meeting with the Greek Prime Minister in an expanded discussion, so that they can jointly review some data and information. "Greece will be present at the expanded meeting, so the Greek Prime Minister and I considered it important to have this meeting, which is why I am traveling to Athens on Saturday," he said.
Referring to the European Council that will convene on Thursday, the President of the Republic said that "as a European official very aptly stated, as the EU we depend for our defense and security on a third state, we depend for our energy on another third state, we depend for our raw materials on another third state."
He then expressed his belief that “as an EU, if we want to stand, if we want to talk about the EU’s strategic autonomy, we must finally make decisions.” At the same time, he expressed his satisfaction with the announcements made on Tuesday by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “All of this will be discussed tomorrow,” he added.
Already, he continued, "instructions have been given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, to the Secretariat dealing with European programs, so that we can see how the Republic of Cyprus can utilize the package concerning lending in particular, because as the Republic of Cyprus we have not escaped the fiscal rules, our public debt is at 68% with a downward trend." "So, let's see how we can utilize these EU programs, which I also publicly welcome, so as to strengthen the deterrent power of our homeland," he concluded.
Source: KYPE
