Christodoulides has ‘yielded no substantial results’

President Nikos Christodoulides’ stance on the Cyprus problem has “not yielded any substantial results”, Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou said on Sunday.

Speaking at an event to commemorate two men who were killed during Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, he said Akel has “submitted a specific and comprehensive proposal on how we can positively influence developments.”

This, he said, would be done with the aim of “creating momentum for the resumption of negotiations from where they were interrupted [in Crans Montana in 2017], preserving the convergences found and negotiating on the basis of the Guterres framework.”

“It is up to the President to discuss our proposal or whether he will continue following the same line he has been following since the day he took office; a line which so far has not yielded any substantial results even through we are now in the second year of his term in office,” he said.

He added, “the developments we see are threatening and no communication trick can prevent them. Only substantial policies and initiatives can.”

He went on to say Cyprus is “at the most critical juncture of its history.”

“The Cyprus problem has been at a complete standstill since 2017, Ankara is taking advantage of the situation and is proceeding undisturbed in its plans for more people to settle, for the Turkification of the occupied territories, for the assimilation of the Turkish Cypriot community [into Turkey] and to promote this unacceptable two-state solution,” he said.

He said Cyprus “cannot remain in indifferent in the face of this critical situation”, and that it “cannot abandon efforts to reach a solution which would end the Turkish occupation and reunite our country and people.”

He insisted that the current impasse “fully serves the plans for partition”, and that Cyprus “cannot get comfortable” with the idea of the island being permanently divided, as it would “leave the island exposed to risks”.

Instead, he said, “seriousness, consistency, collectivity, and a policy based on principles and concrete planning are required.”

He also touched on the matter of missing persons, saying they are “one of the most important chapters in Cypriot history” and “a wound which is open, bleeding, and painful.”

“The state must not let it be forgotten or closed until the fate of each and every missing person has been ascertained,” he said.

He added that Cyprus “has an obligation to persist and exert pressure at every opportunity so that Turkey cooperate in opening its armed forces’ archives and provide as much information as possible.”

Cyprus, he said, “must not give up the effort to verify the fate of all the missing persons and must also offer substantial support for the victims. We will continue to support the fight of missing persons’ relatives.”