The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, submitted an eight-point package at the meeting he had on Monday morning with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, at the residence of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, in the buffer zone, in the Nicosia airport area.
In statements to journalists at the Presidential Palace, after his return from the meeting, the President of the Republic said that "I submitted a package of proposals with eight points, eight characteristics, concerning roadblocks and other ideas that I also discussed with the UN Secretary-General in New York, and the Secretary-General was positive."
As President Christodoulides said, Mr. Tatar responded that he was not in a position to make decisions today. “I was ready, if there was a positive response, to proceed with the publication of all eight points of the package,” he said.
As he clarified, the eight points he proposed are related to each other, "there is no choice, I choose one of the eight and we move forward," he noted.
As the President said, Mr. Tatar asked for time, as he was not in a position today to make decisions and make them public. Therefore, he noted, the two leaders "will meet again whenever Mr. Tatar is ready."
Asked if the eight points concern roadblocks that will be opened, the President of the Republic said that "I referred to roadblocks but also other ideas, which we also discussed in New York, on my own initiative, during dinner, ideas to which the Secretary-General was positive, but there was no positive response from Mr. Tatar."
He clarified that beyond the issue of roadblocks, the points proposed by the President include an Advisory Committee from Civil Society concerning the Cyprus issue, as well as a Truth Committee, and a Technical Committee for Youth, noting that from Mr. Tatar's side "there was no response."
As he noted, after today's meeting, the negotiators will continue the discussion and "as soon as he (Mr. Tatar) is ready, I am ready to meet."
In response to a journalist's remark that Mr. Tatar said he was positive on the issue concerning Lympia and Athienou, the President of the Republic responded, "no, he was not positive on the issue of Athienou. If he were positive on the issue of Athienou, there could have been announcements."
He added that “Mr. Tatar, I do not want to speak on his behalf, submitted some ideas that I immediately agreed with. For one (roadblock in Athienou) that, yes, we are ready, for the other (roadblock in Lympia) – the way he presented it, that it is for the benefit of the Greek Cypriots does not correspond to reality” and it was to move the discussion from the roadblock in Athienou, said President Christodoulides.
"We submitted specific proposals for the benefit of the entire Cypriot people, taking into account the requests of the residents of Athienou, Pyrgos Tillyria and the surrounding areas, proposals that are also of interest to the Turkish Cypriots, proposals for which there was an agreement in the past, but when the time came for implementation we saw a retreat from the Turkish side, more ideas that we discussed with the Secretary General, and the Secretary General was positive, eight in total, a package which of course was not for only some of them to be selected, but assumes that it is for the benefit of the entire Cypriot people. The answer was specific, that he was not in a position today to decide and make announcements and I said whenever you are ready I am here to meet again", he noted.
Asked whether their new meeting will take place during the presence of UN Deputy Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo in Cyprus, President Christodoulides said that "it depends exclusively on when the Turkish side will be ready. I repeat, these are specific proposals, ours, which we have worked out and I mentioned very specifically in the discussion. If there was a positive response today, they could be made public," he noted.
When asked whether, in addition to the known crossing points proposed by the Greek Cypriot side, suggestions for other roadblocks were included, the President of the Republic said, "no, the specific ones exist as you have mentioned. There are some other roadblocks that were mentioned by the Turkish side in order to create a mutually beneficial state of affairs."
He reiterated that without being able to take a position on the specifics, Mr. Tatar could not answer and asked for time to study them.
Asked if this package is "all or nothing", the President of the Republic said that "it is a package that, yes, has this dimension".
To another question, he said that "the next meeting will take place if there is an answer, either positive or negative. But for the UN to proceed with calling a new meeting - we are ready tomorrow, even today - if there was a possibility of a decision at that time, it could be made public."
He added that "even if the answer is negative, I believe that a meeting will be held to convey the answers (Mr. Tatar) to this package with the eight points that we specifically suggested."
As reported by CNA, the eight points submitted include the Pyroi-Athienou, Mia Milia, Kokkina roadblocks and a crossing at Louroudzina. In addition, they include, among others, a proposal for a Youth Technical Committee, a proposal for a Truth Committee, an Advisory Committee on the Cyprus Problem from Civil Society and the implementation of the Pyla understanding.
Of these, the points that should have been included as a "package" mainly concern the issue of roadblocks, a source with knowledge of the matter said, noting that if Mr. Tatar appeared positive on any of the other issues, such as the proposal for a Youth Technical Committee, the Greek Cypriot side would agree.
Source: KYPE
