AKEL leader Stefanou urges preventing deadlock in Cyprus issue — Cyprus Mail

In Cyprus, AKEL party leader Stefanos Stefanou, following a National Council meeting, called for preventing the Cyprus issue from reaching a deadlock. He said the situation was unfavorable and the mood pessimistic due to the lack of developments and an agreement on confidence-building measures, Cyprus Mail reports.

Call for initiatives

Stefanou stressed that the Cyprus issue must remain the top priority. In his view, the Greek Cypriot side should seek to influence the course of the process through concrete initiatives so that it does not fade away.

He also said that even if the current UN secretary-general fails to convene an expanded meeting, he should leave his successor with the convergences of positions that have been developed. According to Stefanou, preserving these achievements should be one of the tasks of the policy pursued by the Greek Cypriot side.

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Negotiations after Crans-Montana

The AKEL leader said that current UN Secretary-General António Guterres had made significant efforts toward a settlement. He mentioned the conference in Crans-Montana, where, according to Guterres, the sides came very close to resolving the Cyprus issue.

Stefanou noted that there have been no negotiations since then. He considers it necessary to find a way to resume them from the point at which they were interrupted, while preserving the achievements and convergences developed over years of work.

The president’s nineteen points

Commenting on 19 new discussion points proposed by President Nikos Christodoulides, Stefanou said that he was familiar with them but had agreed not to disclose them publicly. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman previously said that these points complicate the process.