Statement
by the President of the Republic Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos after the final
meeting on Cyprus in New York
February 13, 2004
Papadopoulos:
I would
like to point
out that our side, for quite a while has been seeking and has made a written
appeal to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to reconvene talks on the
basis of the Annan plan, with a view to reuniting our island before our
accession to the European Union on
May 1, 2004
. In
New York
the resumption of direct talks has been agreed upon.
Whether they will succeed or
not will depend on a change in the attitude of the position of the Turkish side
and on whether it will demonstrate the necessary political will.
In the same
spirit and with the complete unanimity of
the political leaders who accompanied me as well as of the Government of Greece,
we came to these talks in
New York
.
From the
first moment in my meetings with the Secretary-General and his associates we
submitted our proposals, repeating the ones I had submitted in
Brussels
, as well as the new suggestions in the basis of the
documents that had been placed before us by the Secretary-General and his
associates.
I would like
to point out the following:
- The handlings on our side led the
Turkish Cypriot side back to the negotiating table on the basis of the Annan
plan, which, until yesterday it called «dead and buried»
- The role of the Secretary-General
to decide upon the points where there will be continued deadlock is now
confined to the basis of the plan and is not open for issues that might be
raised up by the Turkish Cypriot side, and which are outside the plan.
- Third and most important is the
involvement of the European Union, the Commission, in all the stages of the
negotiations, involvement which
will be multiform and on
different levels.
(Note: the
last two constitute an important improvement in the Annan letter of
4/2/2004
)
The
inter-communal negotiations are broadened with the presence of
Greece
and
Turkey
in a role of cooperation and support of the efforts for a
finalization of the negotiations and resolution of the
Cyprus
problem. The
broadened negotiations will always be conducted under the auspices of the United
Nations and within the framework of the Secretary-General’s good offices.
According to
assurances given by the Secretary-General, the submission of the final plan to
the Security Council, according to standard practice, will be made before its
finalization and the Secretary-General he, himself mentioned that he is the
guardian of the Charter of the United Nations and of the decisions of the
Security Council.
Our side has
demonstrated complete unanimity and I wish to express my deep appreciation to
the political leaders that accompanied me to
New York
, Mr Demetris Christofias, Mr Nikos Anastasiades and Mr
Yiannakis Omirou, as well as Foreign Minister, Mr George Iacovou and Government
Spokesman, Mr Kypros Chrysostomides as well as the government officers for their
substantial support. I want to make
special mention to former President of the Republic Mr Glafkos Clerides for his
continuing support and his presence in all the meetings with the
Secretary-General and his advisers. His
very important contribution must be recognised by all and I do this first, from
the bottom of my heart. The unity
was complete, and there was no shade of disagreement.
Furthermore,
our cooperation with the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Costas Simitis, was also
very close and I was in constant contact with him, and the Government of Greece
in general, as well as with the
representatives of
Greece
here. Our
positions were the same. I express
my thanks to Mr Simitis, the Greek Government, as well as the leader of the
opposition, Mr Costas Êaramanlis.
Our side will
continue, with the same positive attitude, to seek a solution to the
Cyprus
problem on the basis of the Annan plan and the accession of
a reunited
Cyprus
to the European Union on 1 May.
* * * * *
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