Nicosia must ‘avoid generalisations’ on Cyprus problem

Former Greek Vice President Evangelos Venizelos said on Wednesday that Greece and Cyprus need to formulate a vision and consensus on the Cyprus problem.

Speaking during his visit with House speaker Annita Demetriou, Venizelos said that Nicosia needs to stay away from making generalisations on the Cyprus problem.

“We should formulate a line here in Nicosia with visions and consensus, without repeating generalisations,” Venizelos said.

Venizelos said that the moment is very critical and that due to the deep crisis in the Middle East, the Cyprus problem must be brought back into the news.

“The appointment of the UN secretary-general’s special envoy is a very encouraging sign that we should make the most of,” he said, indicating that for this to happen there must be a truly national strategy and that the key to this strategy lies in Nicosia.

“The political parties must work out our strategy with the support of the Hellenic Republic and the entire nation.”

Venizelos said that he and Demetriou had also discussed critical legal and constitutional issues and said that he was at the disposal of the parliament for any assistance needed.

He also said that the new momentum in Greek-Turkish relations “is a momentum of climate and goodwill”.

“This can contribute to a better mood in the Cyprus problem, which is not a Greek-Turkish issue but an international issue of invasion and occupation, we never forget that.”

In response to a journalist’s remark that improved Greek-Turkish relations does not translate into a change in the Turkish side’s stance on the Cyprus problem as it insists on a two-state solution, Venizelos said that Greece has been prioritising the Cyprus problem in its national strategy for 50 years.

He added that the improvement in Greek-Turkish relations without the two countries having moved forward on substantive issues is an approach that could potentially work positively on the Cyprus problem as well.