President urges Turkish Cypriots to choose their own destiny

President Nicos Anastasiades says he is ready to resume talks for a Cyprus settlement, on the basis of the framework submitted by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres last July 4.

He also called on Turkish Cypriots to avoid serving the interests of any third country.

But Anastasiades said he would not accept any terms “that essentially constitute surrendering”, or which satisfy only one community and disregard principles that are essential for the functioning of a country.

He also ruled out the presence of foreign troops and intervention rights post-solution, as well as the issue of securing a positive vote from the minority community on every decision.

“We have accepted political equality, however there can be no insistence for numerical equality as well,” said Anastasiades.

He argued the Greek Cypriot side has not deprived Turkish Cypriots of their properties and is willing to secure their rights in the island’s natural resources.

Anastasiades said Turkish Cypriots need to understand that they will either live together with Greek Cypriots in an independent, sovereign country, commanding their own desting or “we will turn into a protectorate of a third country”, serving the strategic ambitions of those who want to see the revival of old empires.

The President said he wants a climate of understanding but sometimes “the truth must be told”.

Nicosia is still waiting to see whether the UN will send an envoy to Cyprus to sound out the possibility of resuming peace talks that collapsed in Switzerland last summer.