A speedy solution to the Cyprus problem is realistic

By Stefanos Stefanou, general secretary of Akel

It is Akel’s conviction that the non-solution of the Cyprus problem is detrimental both for Cyprus and its people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, as well as for Turkey and the international community in general.

It is also harmful to the EU itself, which is called upon to manage the shocks and problems which the current status quo of the Cyprus problem provokes, in an environment of various other burning problems and conflicts. And I am not only referring to the complications caused in EU-Turkey relations, but also to Turkey’s weaponisation of the pending issues arising from the non-solution of the Cyprus problem, as it seeks to impose its hegemonic role in the wider region. Needless to say, this is not in line with the good neighbourly relations being promoted by the EU and even more so with the status of a candidate for EU accession.

From the issues of energy and the delimitation of maritime zones to the exploitation of the tragic need for refugees to relocate, from the violation of the UN resolutions on Varosha to the creation of new military bases in the occupied territories of Cyprus, these and other actions by Turkey make up an explosive mix of aggression, arrogance and attempts to impose the will of the mighty. This inevitably affects the security of citizens, stability and prosperity in the EU itself.

If anything can have a positive impact on developments, if anything can help create conditions of normalisation, stability and less insecurity in the region, something we all need – evidently with different degrees of intensity – it is the solution of the Cyprus problem.

However distant this goal may seem today, we believe that it is still achievable. We believe that under the right preconditions the Cyprus problem can be solved soon and indeed more easily than other challenges facing the international community. The Cypriot-owned process that took us to within half a mile from a solution, in the UN Secretary General’s fond expression in 2017, has bequeathed us a body of work from the negotiating procedure that can easily lead to a comprehensive solution to the problem if there is the political will to do so. Despite the different narratives of those who participated in the conference, everyone without exception admits that at Crans-Montana we came very close to a solution to the core aspects of the Cyprus problem.

Therefore, if we continue from where we were, a speedy solution to the Cyprus problem is realistic. This has, after all, been the position of Antonio Guterres, of the UN Security Council, and also of the relevant resolutions of the European Parliament itself for four years.

For Turkey to be persuaded to come back on the rails of Crans-Montana, we must reaffirm in practice our commitment to the convergences recorded and seek to make the Guterres Framework a strategic understanding without asterisks and footnotes. We must build on the informal document on the implementation mechanism for the solution, which focused on the termination of the Treaty of Guarantee and all unilateral intervention rights and the swift withdrawal of the occupying troops.

However, to achieve this objective, we must also provide some well-intentioned incentives that should never go beyond our “red lines”, both to the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey too, to be implemented after the solution of the Cyprus problem, as envisaged in a very specific way in the proposal that Akel has been putting forward for three years. A proposal that has become even more relevant today with the unprecedented energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine, given that it includes the use of the energy and natural gas as an incentive for a solution.

Can Turkey get back on the rails of Crans-Montana or is its position for a two-state solution definitive? There is only one way to answer this question – to test Turkey.

This is Akel’s position, this is the position of the presidential candidate it supports, Andreas Mavroyiannis. The candidate supported by Akel is an outspoken proponent of the agreed basis for a solution. He respects the convergences and declares himself ready, by taking specific initiatives, to work to create the preconditions for the continuation of the negotiatiosn from where they left off.

Andreas Mavroyiannis declares that he is ready to walk with determination the last half a mile towards a solution of the Cyprus problem.