Cypriot National Council continues post-mortem on failed talks

Turkish Cypriot reports suggest they might hand the fenced-off town of Varosha to the UN.

 

A National Council meeting on Tuesday continues the post-mortem on the failure of the Cyprus talks in Crans-Montana and the subsequent developments.

But opposition parties have already launched an all-out attack on President Nicos Anastasiades over his handling of the reunfication talks which collapsed on July 7, warning of new faits accomplis.

Main opposition Akel said the readiness expressed by the President to return to the negotiating table setting as a condition the termination of guarantees and rights of intervention and the withdrawal of Turkish troops had no chance of success.

“Such policies when they were applied in the past always resulted in deadlock, blame put on the Greek Cypriot side and new faits accomplish,” the left-wing party said in a statement.

“Right now, the President’s handling carries risks for new faits accomplis and certainly make it much more difficult to work for a solution of the Cyprus problem based on principles and the agreed framework,” it added.

Since the deadlock in Crans-Montana, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side have said they would move ahead with unilateral measures such as allowing Maronites to return to their villages in the breakaway north.

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In addition, Turkish Cypriot reports, though yet unconfirmed, suggest they might hand the fenced-off town of Varosha to the UN.

Hardline centre Diko has called for more information to be disseminated at the National Council meeting on the measures to counter Turkish actions.

“We finally need to hear specific measures, not generic declarations,” the party said in a statement.

They were responding to government statements that under UN resolutions Turkey cannot open the ‘ghost town’ unilaterally and that Nicosia is ready to discuss it as a mutually agreed confidence building measure.

Socialist Edek went a step further saying it would present a series of measures that the government must take “to address the provocative behaviour of the occupying regime as well as Turkey.”

“The government, unfortunately, does not seem to realise yet what the real aims of Turkey are, and this is particularly dangerous…It is obvious that the government and the President of the Republic have neither alternatives nor a change of tactics,” Edek said.

Edek plans to present its views on new tactics during Tuesday’s National Council meeting.

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