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The President of the Republic Mr.Nicos Christodoulides made statements to the media this afternoon, following the conclusion of the European Council Summit, which took place yesterday and today in Brussels.
The President of the Republic said: "Let me begin by expressing my deepest sorrow at the unexpected loss of young Eulpi in Greece. I have contacted the Minister of Defence, who has informed me of the incident and I have requested that we stand by the family and that the state do whatever is necessary at this difficult time for the family.
Starting with the Cyprus problem, I believe that through the Conclusions a first important step was taken, which resulted from our own initiatives, but the most important was the recognition, on the part of our partners, of the readiness for the resumption of substantive talks.
Starting with the Cyprus problem, I believe that through the Conclusions a first important step was taken, which resulted from our own initiatives, but the most important was the recognition, on the part of our partners, of the readiness for the resumption of substantial talks. I consider the link between the Cyprus issue in the Conclusions and the Euro-Turkish issue, which is also our approach, to be important. Through my intervention today, I have mainly informed you about the telephone contacts I had with the Secretary-General, but there will also be private meetings in July, either in Cyprus or in New York, on how we are proceeding with the whole effort and how this synchronisation between the United Nations, the European Union and even NATO can be achieved.
During my intervention yesterday at the working lunch with the NATO Secretary General, although the Swedish issue is the one that will dominate the discussion in Lithuania, I asked for a clear message to be sent on the Cyprus issue, in the meetings that will take place with Mr Erdogan, about the need to resume the talks. After all, a solution to the Cyprus problem will also bring Turkey closer to the European Union, closer to the West and even closer to NATO. And I am pleased today about the interventions made by countries which traditionally have not shown much interest in the Cyprus problem. I note the intervention, for example, of the Dutch Prime Minister, following the briefing I gave, who supports this initiative, as do other leaders from Austria, Luxembourg, Slovenia, among others, and the first important step is recorded in the Conclusions. Our efforts do not end here. The first milestone, as I mentioned, I believe that it is yielding positive results. Beyond that, I would like to express some dissatisfaction at the fact that it has not been possible to agree to have Conclusions on the issue of migration. Instead of Conclusions, there will be a statement by the President of the European Council, which is not the same thing. This does not in any way invalidate the agreement reached in Luxembourg between the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, but this reference in particular, which concerns the external dimension of immigration and which affects the frontline states, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain, was, I believe, something on which there should have been a common agreement. It was not achieved because of the attitude of two Member States of the European Union. Other important issues were also discussed, such as the European Union's relations with China and other issues concerning internal governance, economy and competitiveness of the European Union."
Afterwards, the President of the Republic responded to journalists' questions as follows: When you say that they supported our position for more active EU involvement...
Answer: For more active engagement, even on the issue of the delegate, because I hear and read different reports, no member state has taken a position against our proposal. In fact, they see the added value through the appointment of such a person. This will be synchronised through the contacts that will be made with the Turkish side, which will take place in the margins of the NATO Summit that will take place in Lithuania. Already, several leaders have informed me today and yesterday - the French President, the Chancellor of Germany, the President of the Council, the President of the Commission - who will be in Lithuania, about the telephone contacts they had with Mr Erdogan, and they see the need to create a positive state of affairs, a mutually beneficial state of affairs, for all parties concerned. And in sync with the United Nations. The involvement of the European Union, as stated in the Conclusions, is relevant at all stages of the process, especially at this juncture, where the objective is one and only one: to break the deadlock.
Question: The milestones you are talking about may include next year's European elections, and may perhaps stop some processes that are taking place?
Answer: No. The milestones as I mentioned were three. The summit that has concluded today, the NATO summit, which I repeat is crucial, and the United Nations General Assembly.
Question: Will the debate get a little more difficult if we get into the European elections?
Answer: Sure. I think at some point, towards the end of the year, we will actually get into the debate on the elections, on the election of members of the European Parliament. I hope and I hope, and that's our goal, that we don't get to that point and still try to resume talks. Surely the passage of time will be very negative. It creates new fait accompli, in general, and moves away from the goal of resolving the Cyprus problem.
Question: Germany intends to call for a reheating of Euro-Turkish relations in the context of assistance to Turkey on migration. Was such a speech finally made during the meetings?
Answer: There was no specific discussion on the issue you mention, but I can say that the paragraph on Turkey was the subject of consultation between the Republic of Cyprus, Germany, Greece and the institutions. That is where the first discussion started from to arrive at today. There were some interventions concerning Euro-Turkish relations, with the conclusions, but not the migration dimension.
Question: And do you expect, Mr. President, in New York there will be a trilateral meeting? Are you open?
Answer: Of course, I'm open. I have indicated this to the Secretary-General. There will be a meeting with the Secretary General, with a representative of the Republic of Cyprus, to convey in person how we see this synchronization, which has already begun to work and to bring, I think, positive results. There was a meeting recently in France organised by the French President, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations was also there, who had a meeting with the President of the Council, as I have been informed, during which they also discussed the Cyprus problem: On migration, do we have any update on the specific plan for the Eastern Mediterranean requested by the Commission?
Answer: I have raised the issue. You understand, yesterday the discussions were long yesterday. We started around 5 in the afternoon, concluded around 2 in the morning. In our intervention, one of the issues was the need for this Commission Action Plan, which was agreed at the February European Council, to be announced as soon as possible. I addressed the President of the Commission to say that we expect to see concrete proposals that will bring solutions, not just wishful thinking. And I referred to the fact that for Cyprus, Austria, which is the second after Cyprus to face this serious problem of migration, there should be substantial help. That is why it was important, and as I mentioned earlier in my introductory intervention, that there should be conclusions today in relation to migration, particularly the external dimension of migration. Unfortunately, I repeat, this has not been possible.
Question: Is the Action Plan also linked to the debate on Turkey and migration?
Answer: Sure. It also touches on the issue of Turkey's compliance within the framework of its obligations, which also stem from the 2016 Agreement.
Question: So far, is there an impression from the European leaders who have already communicated with President Erdogan that there may be a different approach by him, which of course also concerns the Cyprus issue?
Answer: As I have been told, they see a window of opportunity, but we want to see it translated into a resumption of talks. There is a readiness to strengthen Euro-Turkish relations through the resumption and progress of the Cyprus talks.
Question: And the illegal housing in Deryneia, Mr. President, which President Erdogan has already gone ahead with this announcement and with the blessing of the occupation leader, it seems that it will no longer stop.
Answer: You realize that the implementation of this decision will further complicate the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem. I have mentioned this in Cyprus, that only through the solution of the Cyprus problem can further defaults be avoided. The passage of time creates more obstacles through the existence and creation of further fait accompli and takes us even further away from the goal. That is why we insist, from the very first moment, on the basis of a plan, to work to start the talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana.
Q: Regarding climate change for the next COP which will take place in Abu Dhabi in a few months. Did you discuss any European agenda regarding climate change and what are we expecting from this important meeting in the Arab Emirates?
Answer: Οn migration, it was not agreed and they had to revert to a statement by the President of the European Council. Do you think this could make Poland and Hungary even more isolated on migration and potentially make it more difficult in the future to finally agree on migration?
Απάντηση: We are not here to isolate any member state. My main message is that we need to work together. What is important to keep in mind, is that the fact that we do not have conclusions today for migration does not mean that what was agreed at the level of the Minister of Justice and Interior in Luxembourg recently, is not valid. The decision is there and we are going to implement that decision. And actually, I do not want to talk on behalf of Poland or Hungary, but their objection wasn’t mainly about the result or the outcome of the discussions in Luxembourg. It was mainly about the procedure that followed. Thank you.
(ΜΠ/ΝΓ)
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