Direct Democracy Cyprus leader Fidias Panayiotou on Wednesday offered stern criticism for President Nikos Christodoulides’ stance on the Cyprus problem, saying that in almost a decade on the political frontline, Christodoulides’ career has borne “no substantial fruit” on the Cyprus problem.
Christodoulides was appointed as foreign minister by then president Nicos Anastasiades in 2018, having previously been government spokesman since 2014, with Panayiotou saying after Wednesday’s National Council meeting that “he has been in a position of power for almost ten years and been able to bring about substantial results”.
“The career which followed did not bear any substantial fruit,” he said.
Earlier, he had promised to be “a little tough with the president on the Cyprus issue”.
“It has been 111 months since Crans-Montana, which was the last round of talks, and we have not seen any substantial development on the Cyprus issue to restart the talks, and that says a lot,” he said.
Israel and Turkey ‘could enter into a possible conflict in the future’
He added that he had raised at the meeting the geostrategic risks in the region, saying that “Iran is becoming stronger after these developments” of this year’s regional conflict, and that “we have instability in the region”.
“We have Israel and Turkey, which could enter into a possible conflict in the future, and we must be very careful,” he said, before adding that he had also raised the matter of the Great Sea Interconnector, which, if completed, will link the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, and the risks it may entail.
Asked about the specific suggestions he had made, he said that “these discussions should remain within the National Council”, and that “there are some things we discussed inside which I wish to remain inside”.
He then echoed the words of former Disy leader Averof Neophytou from Tuesday, saying that “it seems that [Christodoulides] will perhaps be the only president who has failed to bring the Cyprus issue to negotiations”.
“Our policies are not working as they seem,” Panayiotou said.
Click here to change your cookie preferences