Government urges talks on making Varosha proposal acceptable to Turkish Cypriots

Nicosia, Cyprus. On Monday the government asked for detailed discussion of how its Varosha proposal could be made acceptable to the Turkish Cypriot side, instead of dwelling on grounds for turning it down. The appeal came before Tuesday’s meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.

Meeting with the UN

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis briefed reporters at the Presidential Palace after Christodoulides met Khassim Diagne, the UN secretary-general’s special representative and head of Unficyp. He said the talks centred on the next steps towards restarting negotiations on Cyprus.

According to Letymbiotis, the president told the UN that the Greek Cypriot side has a “continuing and growing desire” to see no violation or attempted violation of the buffer zone status quo. He confirmed that Christodoulides had raised concerns on the matter.

Upcoming meetings

Christodoulides and Erhurman are due to meet on Tuesday under UN auspices. The president is scheduled to see Maria Angela Holguin, the personal envoy of the UN secretary-general, on Friday. A joint meeting of both leaders with Holguin has been arranged for November 9.

The Varosha proposal

Letymbiotis responded to Erhurman’s objections. The Turkish Cypriot leader has said the proposal is unbalanced because it makes no provision for applying the European Union’s Direct Trade Regulation.

The Varosha idea is one of 19 suggestions put forward by Christodoulides. The complete list has not been made public. Letymbiotis said the proposal could bring immediate, tangible benefits to both communities.

He described two components. The first is handing back the fenced-off part of Famagusta in line with UN Security Council Resolutions 550 and 789. The second is running Famagusta port under the European Commission.

Earlier on Monday, Christodoulides repeated that the proposal remained on the table and said it was different from an initiative from 2005.

Asked what might change to make the proposal acceptable to the Turkish Cypriot side, Letymbiotis said he could not speak for Erhurman. He argued that the debate should concentrate on the potential benefits for both communities.