Leader of the South’s second largest political party AKEL Andros Kyprianou has returned from a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul.
On Sunday, he said that it was apparent that Turkey wanted to be involved in the issue of guarantees, but he noted that they were open to discussion in order to find an agreement that would satisfy both sides.
“The visit has achieved the objectives we set from the outset… that is to meet with the Turkish Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister who can take on board over time, the positions of the Greek Cypriot side as formed by the National Council,” Kyprianou said.
“The second objective was to hear from their side and possibly to try to diagnose what might be hidden behind their words”, he said.
“The Turkish Prime Minister specifically said they would be interested in a partnership with Greece and Cyprus after the solution of the Cyprus problem in order to help develop the region,” Kyprianou said.
The AKEL leader noted that “Another message they gave is that they support Mr Akinci in his efforts at the negotiating table. Mr. Akinci has full discretion to handle internal matters. Turkey is more interested in issues relating to security, guarantees and demilitarisation, from what I understand.”
His impression was that Turkey wanted continued its involvement in the matter of security in a way that all sides could find acceptable, but it did not mean that the current guarantor system need continue.
“Our position is clear that we cannot accept Turkey as a guarantor and in no instance can accept unilateral intervention rights from Turkey”, Kyprianou pointed out.
He added that the only way to solve disagreements was through dialogue and said both sides at Saturday’s meetings had expressed a desire to keep the lines of communication open.
Kyprianou said that he had informed President Anastasiades of his discussions with the Turkish ministers by phone.
Cyprus Mail
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