Akel leader warns against deadlock in Cyprus problem

Nicosia, Cyprus. Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou warned on Wednesday that the Cyprus problem must not be allowed to reach a deadlock. Speaking after a National Council meeting, he said the lack of developments or an agreement on confidence-building measures had created a pessimistic climate.

Call for initiatives

Stefanou said the Cyprus problem must remain “our first priority”. He urged the Greek Cypriot side to take specific initiatives to keep the process from dying down, saying a deadlock would not serve the prospects for a solution.

He said that even if UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could not convene an enlarged meeting, the convergences already reached should be preserved for his successor. He said this should also guide the policy pursued by the Greek Cypriot side.

Resuming negotiations

Stefanou said Guterres had “put in a lot of work” and that his efforts had led to developments culminating in the Crans-Montana conference. According to Stefanou, Guterres had said the sides came very close to a solution there.

No negotiations have taken place since then, Stefanou said. He called for talks to resume from the point where they were interrupted, while preserving the achievements and convergences reached after years of work.

Asked about President Nikos Christodoulides’ 19 new points for discussion, which Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman described as “throwing a spanner in the works”, Stefanou said he had been informed of them but had agreed not to disclose them publicly.