EU has tools to push Turkey back to talks, president says

President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, in reviewing his first 100 days, that from the start of his presidency, his immediate priority was to initiate actions to seek a leading role for the EU in the Cyprus issue.

He told To Vima: “My top priority is to end the impasse and resume the talks where they left off in Crans-Montana. And it is within this context that I developed my proposal for a more active and leading involvement of the EU, especially at the present time when the goal is to break the deadlock.”

The response, he added, had been positive.

“The EU has all those tools and incentives, taking into account the full range of Euro-Turkish relations, that with the resumption of talks and the resolution of the Cyprus issue, can lead to a mutually beneficial state of affairs for all interested parties, including of the EU itself,” Christodoulides added.

Asked about Turkish actions in Varosha, he said that only the resolution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework would prevent a new fait accompli”.

“That’s why I won’t get tired of reminding you that the current state of affairs cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem and the passage of time creates new fait accompli and further distances the prospect of solving the Cyprus problem,” he added.

“We are moving in all international forums, taking all appropriate diplomatic actions, including appealing to the United Nations to stop Turkey’s plans.”

Referring to the re-election of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Christodoulides expressed the hope that “soon there will be developments that will be positive both for the Cyprus issue and for Greek-Turkish relations”.

He hoped the new Erdogan administration would not be characterised by the same revisionism and disrespect for international law.

Referring to immigration, he said it was a huge problem for Cyprus since 95 per cent of arrivals come from Turkey to the north and cross the dividing line.

“At the same time, we need the EU’s help both in the direction of reducing flows from Turkey and in the matter of returns”, concluded the President of the Republic of Cyprus.