For about a month now, you have been officially running as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. What do you get from your contact with citizens?
For me, this contact is valuable. I develop the three pillars of my political proposal: Honest State, Cyprus 2035 and The Solution is in Our Interest. I listen to citizens' suggestions and criticisms. This 'interactive' relationship adds valuable insight into the situation we are in. I am receiving a positive response to the suggestions of the submitter. This satisfies me and of course fills me with more responsibility. The citizens know, they have a very good sense of the impasses in which we find ourselves. They are demanding a different course.
What is the overriding demand that you heard during the consultation with the people? Kand what do you see as the stakes of the elections?
I think we all know. The citizens see the current situation in which arbitrariness and corruption prevail. Citizens are looking for solutions to their daily problems. The Cyprus problem is in the biggest deadlock since the invasion. The Anastasiades administration has been identified with corruption. With the humiliation of the name of Cyprus. The overriding demand is for change, progressive change. In other words, a different way of governing is needed. From the state synonymous with corruption to the Honest State: the state of transparency and respect for rules. Do you have indications of support from any political formation? [/B]
I have met with the leaderships of the Ecologists, AKEL, DIKO. I have also seen the president of DISY. As is known, Mr Neophytou has already announced his own candidacy. Parties have their own procedures and it goes without saying that I fully respect them. I only know that it will not take them long to make their decisions.
Based on the information, you are one of AKEL's choices because of the convergence on matters of principle, such as the resolution of the Cyprus problem.
Θα περιμένουμε. The convergence of positions on the Cyprus problem is a main parameter in the electoral ferment. I believe that I presented through my Outline of Positions on 28 February a comprehensive programme on Cyprus that I believe can be embraced by the majority of the electorate. Of course it can be enriched, but the main lines meet the expectations of the majority of our compatriots.
In case you are supported by a party, will the outline of positions you have announced be edited or even changed? Will it be grafted with other positions?
My Outline of Positions can be seen https:/achilleas.eu. It's 40 pages long. But when you cooperate, when a political formation decides to support you, it goes without saying that you will listen with interest to suggestions or additions to what you have already set out and enrich it. Cooperation means reciprocity and honesty with transparency.
If you are not supported by a party, or an organised group, will you remain in the electoral battle until the end?
I have already declared it. I will be there until the end.
You announced your candidacy with the central slogan "Cyprus deserves better". Don't you agree that we choose our leaders ourselves? I mean the majority of citizens.
Of course we elect them and of course we change them with our free will. Elected rulers throughout their term of office are judged by their work. Where Cyprus was five or ten years ago and where it is now. In the end it is the citizens who decide. It is on this analysis that I judge the Anastasiades administration as a failure. He exposed our country internationally, in all corruption indicators there is an incredible slide. Our country lagged behind in key areas that affect the daily lives of our citizens: green growth, environmental protection, the use of renewable energy sources, digitalisation, the welfare state, the coverage of social inequalities. Cyprus is in danger of falling off the cliffs of partition. Is this what Cyprus deserves? Is this what we want? I answer simply and clearly "Cyprus deserves better."
"I want to clean our country from corruption" you said. It sounds easy and catchy but you will agree that it is not easy at all. Do you have the power to do so?
Nothing is easy but nothing is impossible when the political will is there. "I want to clean our country of corruption" means, among other things, putting an end to the absence of transparency and the lack of accountability. Transparency based on the good governance rules set by GRECO for the whole of Europe. It also means applying regulations that prevent conflicts of interest in the exercise of power. With a real hidden agenda. We need to know where everyone got their money. With radical reform in the area of justice, with the introduction of technology and the restoration of citizens' trust in the State. An honest state.
You appear to be a strong supporter of the Cyprus settlement. Really, is the solution in our hands? How can the whole gap between the sides be bridged? For example, our side is talking about resuming the effort from the point where they stopped at Crans Montana and the Turkish side is talking about two states?
Your question overlooks two key elements. First, the president's unreliability in the international arena and second, that Turkish intransigence has been "complemented" by our own inaction since 2017. We need first and urgently to regain our credibility at the UN and EU level. By demonstrating our readiness for negotiations based on the Framework presented on 30 June 2017 by UN Secretary General A. Guterres. My position is that Cyprus' engagement with the EU is the most coherent response to the current impasses. I propose a European Peace Plan, which is our responsibility to organise and implement. It is our armoury to build on common interests for the mutual benefit of the states of the region. The EU-Turkey "Positive Agenda" passes through with the main premise: the resolution of the Cyprus problem. Maintaining the link between Euro-Turkish relations and the Cyprus problem is particularly important, because it provides important levers to leverage. I do not accept partition. I want a united Cyprus, without occupying troops, with one sovereignty, one citizenship, one international personality and one voice in a united Europe.
You have condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the very first moment. Do you think that Cyprus, because of its EU membership and its very good relations with Moscow, could play another role in the crisis? We see for example Turkey, a country that violates international law, appearing as the peacemaker and honest mediator.
Cyprus could have played a role if it had built an image of a reliable and prudent partner. As I mentioned before, the Anastasiades government has produced the opposite results. We need to reverse this image if we wish to play a role internationally. The war in Ukraine creates a new situation on the international level that we can exploit on two levels: firstly, energy and secondly, Turkey-EU relations. It is on these two levels that we can create the catalyst for the resolution of the Cyprus problem. With the resolution, with our active participation in the EU, we multiply our advantages. Thus we can become a real bridge of dialogue, first in our neighbourhood, as we are the only EU member state in the region.
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