Nicosia, Cyprus. Diko leader Nicholas Papadopoulos on Monday called for the European Union to take on a greater role in efforts to resume negotiations on the Cyprus problem after attending a National Council meeting. He said Europe could use discussions concerning matters between Europe and Turkey to apply pressure and provide incentives for a more constructive approach from the Turkish side.
Papadopoulos calls for European initiatives
Papadopoulos said Diko and other parties in parliament must undertake their own initiatives at the European level to push in this direction. He added that these efforts should be combined to support President Nikos Christodoulides’ efforts to achieve a resumption of negotiations in earnest.
Christodoulides links EU role to renewed talks
His comments came after Christodoulides said last week that the European Union has the most decisive role to play in the current effort to restart negotiations in earnest, following his meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa.
Christodoulides linked efforts to solve the Cyprus problem to the government’s six-month term as holder of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, which he described as universally acclaimed and successful.
He said that, within this context, the EU has the most decisive role to play in United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ effort to restart talks for a sustainable and functional solution to the Cyprus problem, fully compatible with the principles, values, and law of the EU.
Erhurman says EU can support but not mediate
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has also expressed openness to a greater role for the European Union in efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, while stressing that the bloc cannot act as a mediator because the Republic of Cyprus is a member state.
He said the European Union can support the process positively through its own decision-making mechanisms and that it should do so.
Erhurman also said the EU had become part of the problem after accepting Cyprus as a member state without the Cyprus problem being solved. He added that, after the Annan plan, some of the things the EU said would happen if the Greek Cypriot side said no did not happen.
