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The German Chancellor expressed today Germany's readiness to assist in the resumption of the Cyprus settlement negotiations, noting that for there to be a perspective, all parties involved must have good will. The Chancellor of Germany, with whom the President of the Republic met today, praised the excellent level of bilateral relations between Cyprus and Germany.
President Christodoulides, accompanied by members of the Cypriot delegation, arrived early in the afternoon at the Chancellery in Berlin, where he was received by the Chancellor of Germany, Mr. Olaf Scholz, while a military contingent paid tribute.
The national anthems of Cyprus and Germany were played and then the two leaders attended a one-to-one meeting, which was followed by extended talks between the delegations of the two countries.
Afterwards, the President of the Republic and the Chancellor of Germany made statements to the media.
Welcoming President Christodoulides, Chancellor Scholz, speaking through an interpreter, said "Ladies and gentlemen, let me once again extend a warm welcome to the President of the Republic of Cyprus on his first official visit here in Berlin. Dear Niko, I am glad that we had the opportunity to speak at length. Our conversation showed me that Germany and Cyprus have a lot in common, both bilaterally and in the context of the European Union. This is precisely the reason why we agreed to cooperate even more closely in the future, on issues such as climate protection, energy supply and defence cooperation. The Cyprus problem was, of course, one of the issues we discussed. Germany continues to support a solution in which Cyprus becomes a federal state, bizonal, and where both communities are represented in the leadership of that state. This is based on the United Nations resolutions. Therefore, I would like the deadlock in the negotiation process to finally gain new momentum. This, however, requires political courage on the part of all parties involved, and I do not know whether there is the will on all sides. We have discussed this and we want to help. Germany is ready to help everyone to gain more confidence in each other, and if that is desirable, we are happy to support this negotiation process. The situation in the Eastern Mediterranean is also a matter of concern to us. The region has a lot of economic potential. There is a lot of potential, at the level of energy, for example, for regional cooperation. Therefore, good neighbourly relations are in the interest of all neighbouring countries, so that together they can make full use of this potential for the benefit of our peoples. I am convinced that the issues raised in the Eastern Mediterranean can be resolved through dialogue and on the basis of international law. After all, relations between Cyprus and Turkey are important for the whole of Europe. Apart from that, we also discussed the other major challenges facing Europe together today. This applies, in particular, to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Germany and Cyprus, together with our partners in the European Union, are standing closely by Ukraine and we will not stop supporting Ukraine politically, economically, humanitarian and, of course, with weapons. We will also continue to step up the pressure of sanctions against Russia and in particular ensure that our sanctions are not circumvented. There is a wide range of issues that we have discussed and this indeed shows - I want to emphasise in closing - that Cyprus and Germany are closely linked. Thank you very much for your visit and I look forward to continuing our intensive cooperation."
For his part, the President of the Republic said "Dear Olaf, first of all, allow me to express my warm thanks for today's very constructive discussion. My visit to Germany is among the first visits, two and a half months after I took office, and is a clear indication of our intention to cooperate even further, to further strengthen the Republic of Cyprus' relations with Germany. Today we discussed our bilateral relations, issues on the European agenda. In particular, we took stock of our bilateral relations. It is a fact that in recent years there has been a significant strengthening of our relations in the areas of defence, education and culture, on the issue of migration, on tourism issues, and it is important that this strengthening should be extended to other areas for the benefit of both countries. On the Cyprus issue, I reiterated once again my readiness to resume the talks immediately from where they left off in Crans-Montana. The Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the European Union. The Cyprus problem is a European problem and its solution directly affects the European Union. In the current geopolitical environment that is taking shape, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union can and must make a decisive contribution to the resumption of the talks, always within the framework of the United Nations, and it is our strong belief that the European Union has those tools, those incentives that can lead to a mutually acceptable solution. A mutually acceptable solution for the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, for Turkey, for the European Union, for our region in general. And I believe that Germany, as one of the most important member states of the European Union, can contribute to this effort. Dear Olaf, as you very aptly mentioned recently in the European Parliament, today more than ever we need a strong, an active, a geopolitical Europe. A Europe that takes important initiatives, that plays an important role in the international system, which is characterised by instability and challenges. And the achievement of this goal, of a strong Europe, also goes through the resolution of the Cyprus problem, through close relations with Turkey, and through a leading role for the Union in the Eastern Mediterranean. I fully agree with everything you have mentioned in relation to Ukraine. The Republic of Cyprus is on the right side of history. We cannot accept the violation of the independence and territorial integrity of any country. We must ensure at the same time that the decisions we take in Brussels, particularly in relation to sanctions, are implemented by everyone, so that their effectiveness is not affected. Finally, we discussed migration. I want to publicly thank Germany for its help, for helping the Republic of Cyprus to deal with this very serious problem - more than 6% of the population of the Republic of Cyprus at the moment are immigrants. In conclusion, I would like to express again my pleasure for my presence here, for our very good discussion and I look forward to our cooperation."
Afterwards, the two leaders responded to journalists' questions as follows: Chancellor, you said at the beginning of the year that you were clear that Germany would not fall into economic problems and that there would be growth. However, why did you fall short in terms of economic development? And also as finance minister you had argued with an essentially counter-cyclical stance, with no substantial cuts and savings. Do you now want to do the opposite? You talked about 20 million.
K: Thank you very much for such a kind question. The prospects for the German economy are excellent. We are keeping our promises. We really have a shortage of workers, which means we can't even fill our jobs. We have arranged for immigrants to be able to work here, that is, to create, not only to use the opportunities that we have within the European Union, but also to use labour from outside the European Union. So at the moment we are really freeing up our economic forces, giving impetus to new sectors such as energy and so on, so that by 80%, by the end of this decade Germany will be able to cover 100%, as I said, of its energy needs. The corresponding funds must therefore be invested and the corresponding infrastructure must be built. All this has not been achieved so far, but it will be achieved now, thanks to this new government. This will be our concern in the coming years, because the fact is that we will not only meet 80% of today's demand, but we will have an increased energy production that is necessary to cover our infrastructure investments. For this to work, all of our industries, the chemical industry, the automotive industry, etc., will have to be covered in this way. What we are finding is that there is a lot of investment interest. There are, for example, shipbuilding companies coming to us. All of this is possible precisely because we are releasing market forces, as I said before, and it is clear now that we have spent or invested hundreds of millions so that we can compensate for the problems created by the pandemic and so that we can alleviate the economic situation of our citizens. We have also done so in view of the problems that we are facing in terms of securing energy, supply, following the Russian blockade. So we will move in this direction in the future.
Question: Regarding the proposed sanctions on tankers, I mean tankers accused of carrying Russian oil and violating the G7 price cap, are you concerned that these proposed measures by the European Commission are not enforceable or that there is a risk that your shipping industry or regulators will be heavily burdened?
PM: The Republic of Cyprus has been implementing all sanctions related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the beginning. I said earlier - I want to repeat it - we are on the right side of history and we will continue in the same way. You raised an issue concerning shipping. There are two factors that we must take into account in our decisions. The first is that where there is a cost to European industry, from the decisions that we take, the good decisions that we take, the European Union must intervene to strengthen these sectors. And the second, which is important, is something that we are particularly concerned about, is something that I think, as the European Union, we need to look at even more. Some people are not implementing the sanctions, the decisions that we take in Brussels on sanctions against Russia. And this leads to the ineffective implementation of these sanctions. We are not achieving what we are aiming for with the sanctions because some countries choose not to implement them.
Question: Mr. President, you repeated earlier that your goal is for the European Union to play a leading role in the effort to restart the Cyprus negotiations. I can reasonably assume that you have discussed this, as you said, at length with the Chancellor. Your proposal now has specific characteristics. One of these features is your proposal to appoint a special envoy of the European Union. Did you also discuss the profile and characteristics of this person, and possibly the name? I want to publicly reiterate that this involvement of the European Union is not to replace the United Nations. It comes to support and reinforce the United Nations. After all, the United Nations is for us the safety valve in relation to the content of the Cyprus solution, which must be a federal solution, as Olaf very aptly mentioned. I said that we had a frank discussion. Now it's time for diplomacy to work, and let's let diplomacy work. Certainly Germany's role is crucial and certainly this contact will continue.
Question: Chancellor, six months ago, when you received the former President of Cyprus, Mr. Anastasiades, you promised, or rather you emphasized, that you would support, if that was desirable, which you repeated today, the negotiation process. And we also heard from the Cypriot President that Germany's help is indeed desirable. So what is your position on the newly elected President's effort to renew the talks and especially how do you see the role of the European Union in this process? I am really impressed by the great willingness to give new momentum again to this impasse in the negotiations. It is a big goal that the President has set and I think it would help us all, so we should all contribute in this direction, so that there are steps forward. It was very important for me to have this personal contact and conversation with the President, because basically now I can imagine how I could deepen these issues with my friends in the European Union. But, let me stress once again, with great responsibility we will follow the direction.
Question: Mr. President, you just mentioned it earlier. Cyprus is the country in the European Union that has received so many refugees. No country actually has so many people and we thank you on behalf of Germany as well. What help do you expect from the European Union and from Germany in order to alleviate this burden? And I want to thank Germany because recently, not only has Germany accepted a number of migrants from Cyprus to Germany - if my memory serves me right, 232 people - but by June we expect another 800-900 people from Cyprus to be transferred to Germany. And when we talk about solidarity in the European Union, it is only through such actions that solidarity is shown in practice. As the European Union, we need to do more on migration, and we are particularly looking forward to the debate in the presentation of the Eastern Mediterranean Action Plan. But there are two aspects of how as a European Union, I repeat, we need to do more. One is burden sharing. Germany is showing in practice that it understands the importance of burden sharing and other Member States should follow Germany's example. And the second concerns the root causes of the migration phenomenon. If we do not address the root causes of migration, we will not stop having these kinds of issues. So I hope that soon, as the European Union, we will come up with a common approach to tackle this problem.
Question: Chancellor, regardless of the outcome of the elections that are going to take place in Turkey next Sunday, in connection with Cyprus, but not only, in connection with the controversies that exist and with Sweden's membership in NATO, let me ask another question of a political nature. The coalition government has in fact been very tense, recently it has almost reached a rupture. Can we talk about a governmental crisis?
K: Well, look, it is clear that the challenges, for example in Cyprus, can only be resolved if there is also good cooperation with Turkey. There are many issues that need to be resolved in the region and of course we will all together make great efforts to have good neighbourly relations. We in Germany will also make a contribution, and that is also our wish, if you like, and I say that explicitly. Also, as far as the situation is concerned, what we have in mind is to modernise the country after many years of inactivity. We want to put in place processes to modernise industry. And there are many, many more questions here than if one does nothing. However, we need to see what the next steps will be to support the sustainability of the economy and our country. I have asked everyone in the coming weeks to discuss the issues, which are being resolved, among ourselves.
Joint Question: In the last three years we have had too much aggression from Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Greece and Cyprus. In Cyprus, the EEZ was violated many times, we had overflights, we had overflights over the Greek islands, we had war threats many, many times, from the most official lips, from the lips of the President of Turkey. On Sunday we have elections. What do you expect from the new Turkish government, whoever it may be? Mr Chancellor, you and your government have condemned this practice of recent years in Turkey many times. Do you continue to condemn this practice? Do you continue to oppose this practice? And do you, Mr President, fear a new escalation if there is a stronger government in Turkey that has leaned more towards the nationalist side now? We see a great strengthening of nationalism in Turkey. But at the same time, we must know that we cannot change the geography. We cannot move Cyprus from the Eastern Mediterranean and bring it to Central Europe. So we must, and that is why we are here, make proposals, suggestions, take initiatives to solve all the problems that exist, and yes, there are many. That is why I am in Germany today, because I know that it has played a decisive role, both in the Greek-Turkish conflict and in our own cases, in the violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone. Germany played a decisive role in bringing these actions to an end. And we are here with proposals, concrete initiatives, a positive approach to solve these problems. As far as the elections in Turkey are concerned, we certainly do not want an escalation under any circumstances. Whatever the outcome, the choices of the Turkish people will be fully respected. What I can convey from our side is our readiness to work together, to cooperate on the basis of a positive approach and always within the international framework, which must be fully respected.
C: The President has made that clear. What we want is to lay the foundations for good neighbourly relations. We will contribute precisely so that we can have success here and hopefully we can finally be able to take steps forward. I would like to say that, indeed, once again, I am very happy about the great importance that the President attaches to the resolution of the Cyprus problem and exactly how we could approach the issue of good neighbourliness. We will base our efforts on that.
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Note that the Chancellor of Germany spoke through an interpreter.
(PM/NG)
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