[PIO] Statements by the President of the Republic

It is our side's wish that Ms Holguín continues her efforts, which, with the necessary will of all parties involved, will lead to the resumption of talks on the Cyprus problem, President Nicos Christodoulides said today.

In his remarks to journalists, addressing the annual General Assembly of the Pancyprian Hoteliers Association (PASYXE), and asked to comment on information that the personal envoy of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General (SG) for the Cyprus problem, Ms. Holguín, is likely to submit proposals that go beyond the framework of a solution, the President of the Republic said: "Everyone, the UN Secretary General, Ms Holguín, the members of the Security Council (SC) are bound by the UN resolutions themselves.

From then on, on the basis of the information we have from Ms. Holguín, she will submit her report to the UN Secretary General in the first ten days of July. The Secretary-General will study the report and decide on the next steps. So, there is not any information in relation to this issue. And, I repeat, the framework is very specific, it is defined by the UNSC and there is nothing to negotiate outside the specific framework."

Asked if there is a question of order for the UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus after his statements yesterday, the President of the Republic said: "No. We can disagree, we can express our disagreements. We had a very civilised discussion. We disagreed on some issues. I opened the issue - I want to be fair - and I opened it because of the statements I heard from the UN Peacekeeping Force Spokesperson in relation to the Migration issue."

Asked whether he was informed about Ms. Holguín's meeting with Mr. Tatar in London and also asked to comment on the statements of Tatar and the UNSC President, the President of the Republic said: "They are two different issues. They are two different issues. There is nothing that stands out from the public statements made by Mr. Tatar.

On the second one, I do not know the reason for the public statements made by the President of the SC, it was the first day of Russia taking over the Chairmanship of the SC, hence there was a press conference by the Russian Permanent Representative, because the briefing of the SC has not yet taken place.

So, we can expect the briefing, informal briefing. We consider important the fact that the SC is being briefed, since it is what determines the framework for the resolution of the Cyprus problem."

Asked about the future of Ms. Holguín as the UN Secretary General's personal envoy, the President said: "That is up to the Secretary-General himself. Our wish, of course, is for her to continue her efforts, despite the difficulties, the different approaches, the challenges. It is work and we believe that this work can, if there is adequate political will from all parties involved, lead to the desired outcome, which is the resumption of the talks."

In response to another question, the President said that Ms. Olgin will deliver her report on July 10.

Asked to comment on statements made by Mr. Tatar's statements calling for direct flights and direct trade, the President said that these are Mr. Tatar's well-known positions, adding that this cannot be accepted.

He also pointed out that "direct trade, direct flights and direct contacts are the same as sovereign equality, the same as two states. It is the same approach with different names."

Asked to comment on Mr. Tatar's statements accusing our side of instrumentalizing the issue of property usurpation in the occupied territories, the President said: "We are in no way politicizing the issue. When there is a violation of legislation, a violation of one of the basic human rights, the right to property, we will certainly move, we will not stand idly by."

Moreover, asked about the terminal in Vasilikos and whether the termination of the contract could result in financial claims by the company, the President said that the issue is in arbitration and "I cannot comment while it is ongoing."

He added, however, that "the project for us is of strategic importance. We are discussing with the company, I don't want to hide the fact that there are some issues on which we have a different approach, about some delays that we are not satisfied with. The project is of strategic importance in order to achieve the great goal of reducing the price of electricity. We are discussing, we have planning, we have both plan 1 and plan 2, depending on developments."

In response to a journalist's remark that AKEL is criticising the government on the issue of accuracy, President Christodoulides said: "With all due respect to AKEL and the historicity of the party of the left, I think when positions are taken on the economy, they should be a little more careful. We have all seen what the results of the management of the economy have been and we will certainly never allow such levels to be reached.

All our economic policy decisions [ARE] based on a strong financial system, fiscal responsibility and continuous and bold reforms. This policy, which is also recognised through the upgrades of the international rating agencies, allows us to make a targeted social policy, targeted, not horizontal, towards all our compatriots who need to be supported by the state and, at the same time, to have a leading role, and we are demonstrating this, in the issues of education and health, which for us are primary objectives."

(PM/MS/NYAN)
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