Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-03-18

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] PRESIDENT CHRISTOFIAS - CYPRUS PROBLEM - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

[02] PRESIDENT CHRISTOFIAS - PROPERTY ISSUE

[03] FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION - JUSTICE MINISTER - SUSPECTED FOOTBALL GAMES

[01] PRESIDENT CHRISTOFIAS - CYPRUS PROBLEM - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

President Christofias said that the conference would be attended by UN Security Council permanent members, the EU, Greece, Turkey, the Republic of Cyprus and representatives of the two communities in Cyprus.

In his introductory remarks, during a televised press conference at the Presidential Palace, Christofias called on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to respond to the proposal of the Greek Cypriot side if he does not aim just to create impressions with his proposal for an international conference.

Christofias noted that if there is no settlement of the Cyprus problem by the end of his term in office then he will not seek reelection, noting that this will be his first and last term in office.

President Christofias stressed that it would be a fatal mistake and a gift to the Turkish side, if we were to abandon the goal for a bizonal bicommunal federation.

He described as a mistake the possibility of abandoning bicommunal dialogue with the excuse that it degrades the Cyprus problem from a problem of invasion and occupation to a bicommunal problem.

Christofias underlined that Greek Cypriot side will continue the ongoing peace talks for a political settlement on the basis of the principle nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

He said that it has been agreed that negotiations will lead to a mutually accepted settlement that will be put before the two communities for approval at simultaneous and separate referenda. We have convinced the international community that the ownership of the process belongs to Cypriots and in this way we have ruled out the possibility for the imposition of artificial deadlines and arbitration, as well as the imposition of plans from abroad.

We have agreed with the UN Secretary General that the UN role will be to facilitate the negotiations, something that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council, he added.

Christofias noted that that the settlement providing for bizonal, bicommunal federation is a painful compromise that was accepted by our side to terminate occupation and avert the division of our homeland.

He added that the strategic goal of the bizonal, bicommunal federation and the bicommunal dialogue aiming to solve the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem, have been adopted in many UN resolutions.

Christofias stressed that we will continue negotiations based on the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

He added that the Cyprus problem is an international problem, a problem of invasion, occupation and illegal settling and the Turkeys responsibilities are clear.

As regards the issue of the rotating presidency, Christofias said that any effort to abandon it, it would fail and reach a deadlock and the Greek Cypriot side would be blamed as bearing the responsibility for that.

He also expressed the belief that the proposal on the executive submitted by the Greek Cypriot side constitutes an improvement of previous proposals.

He noted that ``with our proposal the President and the Vice-President will be elected directly by the people through a joint voting process and they will appoint the members of the Ministerial Council.``

He said government efforts, acting in concert with Greece, apart from addressing the EU and the UN Security Council, continuously highlights the violation of international law and the UN Charter by Turkey, the need for the international community to move in the direction of Turkey in order to persuade it to change its stance.

The President said that in his first two years in office he was elected in February 2008 he has made 48 trips abroad, which focused on the question of Cyprus as well as bilateral relations with the countries he has visited.

The best way to confront Turkish tactics is to continue efforts for a solution in Cyprus as soon as possible, he stressed.

President Christofias said that the Greek Cypriot side has proved in deeds that it means what it says about a solution as soon as possible and added that the international community credits the Greek Cypriot side with sincerity and will to find a solution.

Referring to the current negotiations he is engaged in with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, the President said they have not yielded the results the Greek Cypriot side had anticipated, which is convergence in all the aspects of the Cyprus question that it wanted.

He explained that 20 meetings were taken up with the issue of governance and power-sharing, 18 on the issue of property, seven on citizenship, immigration and the illegal Turkish settlers in northern Turkish occupied areas, seven on the economy, six on territory, three on the EU, three on security and guarantees and four on other issues.

President Christofias pointed out that the content of proposals tabled at the negotiations is important and not the regular convening of meetings.

The lack of more progress is due to divergence of views between the two sides and not because there were no more meetings than the ones that have already taken place, he explained.

The President said his thoughts and efforts are guided by no other consideration than his concern for a just, viable and functional solution as soon as possible.

The President dismissed criticism from the opposition that he has made concessions at the negotiating table, saying that rotating presidency had been a topic of discussion by previous governments. Furthermore, he explained that the number of illegal Turkish settlers, now in occupied Cyprus, who will stay on the island for humanitarian reasons after a solution, has also been discussed in the past.

President Christofias stressed that he has not submitted anything completely new at the talks, noting that his proposals are based on previous proposals submitted by the Greek Cypriot side and are improvements on what has been tabled in the past.

On the domestic front, he said nobody can be pleased with the situation and pointed to the need for unity, which will support the negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side.

Christofias and Talat have been engaged in direct talks, under UN auspices, since September 2008 with a view to finding a negotiated settlement to reunite the country.

[02] PRESIDENT CHRISTOFIAS - PROPERTY ISSUE

Replying to questions Thursday during a televised press conference for his two years in office, President Christofias asked people not to resort to the so called IPC, explaining that such a move would not prove to be for the general benefit of the Cypriot people, it would rather harm the country.

Invited to comment on the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning the self-styled IPC, set up in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, the President asked people to ignore the IPC.

[03] FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION - JUSTICE MINISTER - SUSPECTED FOOTBALL GAMES

According to Koutsokoumnis the games Ethnikos Achnas- APOP/kinyras (March 1, 2010) and Ermis-Omonoia (February 21, 2010) are classified as yellow, which means that the evidences show that the matches might had been fixed. The game APOP/Kinyras-APEP (March 6, 2010) is classified as red, which according to UEFA, means that the evidences indicate that the math most probably was set up.

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