BOTH leaders on Friday stressed there was no question of signing an interim agreement on the Cyprus issue.
Speaking separately after their third meeting so far this month, President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said there had been no such proposal.
The terms of the negotiations, as laid down in the joint statement on February 11, 2014, say nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
On his return to the presidential palace, Anastasiades told reporters:
“There is no chance for an interim solution. What will be presented to the people of Cyprus will be a comprehensive proposal with a constitution, with the constitution of the federal government, with the constitutions of the federated states, with the agreement which will be depicting the convergences, but also with everything that will constitute annexes.”
He added: “Let me make it clear, the people will be presented with a complete agreement which will not omit anything from all that constitute the component parts of the solution.”
Akinci made a similar comment on his return to the north. “We are faithful to the concept of the overall solution. There is no desire or intention or proposal to sign an interim agreement that contains only a few points,” he said.
Anastasiades said that on Friday he and Akinci had discussed the competencies of the central government and of the constituent states, and also the responsibility that the state would have in terms of international obligations, “so that there will be an oversight for the implementation of the obligations of the federal Republic of Cyprus”.
He said that on most of the competencies of the central government there was convergence. “There are some outstanding differences… about three or four issues… the distance is not great,” he said.
Asked whether the rotating presidency would be discussed in October, the president said it would be. This is one area where the two leaders disagree.
To a comment that it was one of the thorny issues, he said: “It is a thorn on which our position is given. It may remain pending until the end.”
Anastasiades also commented on the political parties making hay from the notion of an interim solution, saying he could not have been more clear at Thursday’s National Council meeting
“There are some who do not want to hear what is said,” he added. “I ask the [party] leaders not to cause confusion for those who still have some concerns.”
UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide tweeted on Friday that he was glad to end the week on a positive note after three productive leaders’ meetings. They are due to meet again on October 13.
In a speech at an event late on Thursday, Anastasiades said the worst errors that had been made in Cyprus over the years were thinking that “powerful friends and allies” could intervene dynamically, either militarily or through influence on Turkey, and that the Cyprus issue could be solved through the courts.
No leadership should feed its people with illusions, he said, including those that hold out the hope that the right synergies would be created over time that would allow those illusions to be fulfilled. In fact, the issue was more about the consequences that would be created as a result of “no action over time”.
Here he referred to interstate applications of Cyprus against Turkey and the judgments of the ECHR against the latter. In addition, there were a number of individual applications against Turkey, which were also a vindication, he said.
“But the successful outcome of both interstate and individual actions created or allowed the cultivation among the people the belief that a just solution of the Cyprus problem could be achieved through the courts,” said Anastasiades.
“The euphoria created, reinforced by an unbridled populism, led hundreds of refugees to submit applications to the ECHR with the expectation for recovery of their property and for an end to the unacceptable situation prevailing in Cyprus.”
However, this was turned on its head when in the Demopoulos case the ECHR ruled that domestic remedies would first need to be exhausted. This led to the creation of the property commission in the north, which Anastasiades said had resulted in thousands of Greek Cypriots being given degrading amounts for their properties.
“I would like to repeat again that we do not ignore the difficulties we face either as a result of Turkish claims or new realities that the passage of time has created,” Anastasiades said.
“The rule of law by itself does not lead to solutions. Neither does political ignorance or disregard of the law lead to durable solutions. The compromise is to link policy-making and law and although it may not be fully compatible… it may be fairer than the results generated from stagnation and deadlocks. Political leaders should lead and not to be brought along by populists or emotional surges.”
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