President Christodoulides was not best pleased at opposition criticism of his post-trilateral Tatar meeting remarks in New York, saying he was surprised that some people on the home front did not even trust the words of their own President.
Following the half hour affair, Christodoulides had said that TC leader Ersin Tatar launched a scathing personal attack against him, adding that he did not respond to this tirade but instead referred to the substance of efforts and disclosed the Guterres goal of kickstarting talks from where they left off at Cran Montana back in 2017, a revelation that caused opposition reaction in Nicosia.
The reason that opposition parties questioned the Christodoulides remarks on the UNSG's intentions, were statements by Tatar to the contrary. The TC leader refuted the President's disclosures, saying Guterres had no plans to resume negotiations where they left off.
'I heard the comments of all those who chose to believe Tatar and not the President of the Republic of Cyprus', Christodoulides commented, adding that luckily he wasn't alone in the meeting, but was accompanied by negotiator Menelaou and the Cypriot UN Permanent Representative Maria Michail.
As to the Tatar ‘equal sovereignty’ remarks, the President was very clear. ‘No surprises there, did not expect anything else from Tatar,’ he said.
Nicos Christodoulides confirmed that the UN chief’s personal envoy on Cyprus Maria Anhela Holguin will be visiting Cyprus following ‘elections’ in the occupied territories.
The goal, he adde, is to prepare the ground for the third informal five party conference before the end of the year, so settlement talks can resume.
He spoke to reporters during an EIB function in Nicosia, while earlier in the day, at a meeting with Greek Parliament Speaker Nkitas Kaklamanis, Christodoulides pledged to support the UNSG so his efforts can actually yield results.
‘It’s important that the Cyprus issue has re-energised’, he told the Greek parliament speaker, noting that Guterres himself had underlined this fact during a five-party informal meeting last March.
He further stressed the significance of the TC ‘electoral’ process next month, adding that the outcome will be important. Asked by Kaklamanis if he believes that the Turkish Cypriot leadership will change, he did not venture into the realm of possibilities. ‘
We will see what the outcome will be’, he responded.
He said that no one at this time can jump to conclusions and went on to indicate that whoever is the next TC leader, Turkey is the one making the final decisions.
The Greek Parliament speaker, who will attend tomorrow’s Independence Day Parade, expressed the hope that efforts will be successful, thought he did admit that he was only cautiously optimistic.
President Christodoulides told Kaklamanis that he is visiting Cyprus at a time of many developments in the region, noting that Cyprus and Greece have aptly proved to be pillars of security and stability.
The Greek Parliament Speaker assured the President that in conditions of political acrimony in Greece, "fortunately Cyprus is one of the few issues on which there is consensus in the Greek Parliament."
Kaklamanis addressed a House of Representatives Plenary meeting, expressing the Greek parliament and people's support to on-going Cyprus settlement efforts.