Former AKEL General Secretary Andros Kyprianou criticised the handling of the Cyprus issue by the President of the Republic, speaking to Politis and the programme Proini Epitheorisi with Katerina Iliadi, on the occasion of the presentation of his book “Through the Clashing Rocks of the Cyprus Issue – A Personal Testimony.”
Mr Kyprianou expressed reservations about the prospects of restarting talks, arguing that Nikos Christodoulides “does not have a clear goal and direction” on the Cyprus issue and is limited, as he said, to “communication-driven interventions.”
As he stated, the main obstacle to the resumption of substantive negotiations remains Turkey’s demand for a two-state solution, for which he placed responsibility on Nikos Anastasiades. In his view, the Greek Cypriot side should focus on how it could create conditions for Ankara to shift from this position.
The former AKEL leader revisited a proposal which, as he said, his party had submitted from 2020 to both the Anastasiades and Christodoulides governments. The proposal includes a commitment to continue negotiations until the end on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation, the submission of bridging proposals on remaining disagreements, and the provision of incentives to Turkey, provided that the Cyprus issue is resolved.
Specifically, he said that Turkey is interested in participating in energy developments in the Eastern Mediterranean regarding natural gas and in upgrading its relations with the European Union. As he noted, the Republic of Cyprus could commit not to obstruct these objectives following an agreed settlement of the Cyprus issue.
“We came very close at Crans-Montana”
Referring to Crans-Montana, Mr Kyprianou claimed that the two sides had come very close to an agreement and that it is generally known where convergences had been reached.
He further claimed that there are recorded notes at the United Nations according to which the former UN Secretary-General informed Nikos Anastasiades that Turkey was prepared to discuss the abolition of guarantees and intervention rights within the framework of a Cyprus settlement, with the former President reacting negatively.
At the same time, he reiterated his position that Nikos Anastasiades had discussed the possibility of a two-state solution. As he said, the then Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had personally told him that Mr Anastasiades had asked for time until the presidential elections, so that afterwards a different solution model could be discussed. He added that similar claims had also been made publicly by other political figures.
Criticism of Tufan Erhurman
The former AKEL leader also expressed disappointment with the stance of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, noting that so far he has not exercised the necessary pressure on the Greek Cypriot side to clarify its position on the Cyprus issue.
According to him, this stance has not contributed to creating the conditions for restarting the process.
What he reveals in his book
Andros Kyprianou said that the book includes information and testimonies mainly concerning the Cyprus issue, from the 1990s up to the period of Nikos Anastasiades’s presidency.
Among other things, he describes discussions he had with the late Socrates Hasikos regarding the investor naturalisation programme. According to him, Socrates Hasikos had expressed concerns about how the issue was being managed by the circle of the then President.
Mr Kyprianou also confirmed that the book records a conversation he claims to have had with former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, during which references were made to financial benefits allegedly received by Nikos Anastasiades that were linked to the “golden passport” programme.
“The greatest disappointment is hypocrisy”
Asked what his greatest disappointment was from his longstanding involvement with the Cyprus issue, Andros Kyprianou replied that it was “hypocrisy, lies and distortion of facts”, arguing that citizens are often not objectively informed about what really happens during negotiations.
Listen to the full intervention of Andros Kyprianou on the Proini Epitheorisi programme broadcast daily on Politis radio.
