The President of the Republic, Mr. Glafcos Clerides, made the following statement in reply to the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr. Rauf Denktash's statement, made in the presence of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mr. Ismail Cem, in which he puts forward proposals for a solution to the Cyprus problem:

"It is obvious that the intention of the Turkish Government and Mr. Denktash is to turn Cyprus, from an independent and sovereign state, into two protectorates which will be subject not only to the unacceptable restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Guarantee but to other worse one-sided restraints and restrictions such as those included in the association agreement between Turkey and the occupation regime which has already been deplored.

Mr. Denktash's proposal is contrary to the high-level agreements, the UN resolutions and, in particular, the recent Security Council resolution which reaffirms the basis for settlement talks.

Mr. Denktash repeats demands which he has made in talks so far and which lead to a confederal solution in spite of the fact that the talks aimed at a federal solution. We have repeatedly denounced these absurd demands by Mr. Denktash to the Security Council, the UN Secretary-General and the international community in general, who have all expressed their strong objection to these.

Under no circumstances can Mr. Denktash's proposal form a basis for talks, as it is unacceptable right from the start. It is also contrary to and contemptuous of the very resolutions of the United Nations on Cyprus, the high-level agreements which Mr. Denktash himself has signed, the substance and spirit of international law and all the international organizations which have deplored the Turkish side's attempt to question the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus."

The President of the Republic, reaffirming his insistence on talks based on the UN resolutions, has already given instructions for the convening of the National Council on Monday, 7 September, to consider the further policy to be adopted on account of the unacceptable Turkish action. At the same time the President of the Republic has stated that he expects the international community to react directly to Turkey's new provocative action.

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