Goal is for July meeting on Cyprus to be a decisive step closer to resuming dialogue, Letymbiotis says

The goal for the July informal meeting on Cyprus is to take a decisive step closer to resuming the dialogue, Greek Cypriot Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Tuesday.

He also noted that the attempt by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, to give a political dimension to the alleged usurpation of Greek Cypriot property in the North and the prosecution of alleged usurpers was “unfounded and dangerous”.

In statements at the Presidential Palace, Letymbiotis referred to the meeting of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, George Gerapetritis, which is scheduled for Thursday, saying that there will be communication between Nicosia and Athens so that the government is informed about the outcome of her contacts, both with Gerapetritis as well as with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, with whom she met on Monday.
He reiterated that after completing her contacts in Ankara and Athens, Holguin is scheduled to travel to London and Brussels, before returning to Cyprus for a second round of contacts.

Asked if Nicosia was in contact with the EU Special Envoy for Cyprus, Johannes Hahn, he said Nicosia’s contacts with Hahn were taking place while he has already begun the preparatory work for his own upcoming meetings.

Regarding Holguin’s visit to Brussels, the Spokesperson noted that the date and schedule would be announced by the envoy herself.

He noted that the contribution of the EU Special Envoy for the Cyprus issue “can be decisive and catalytic”.
Asked whether he was concerned about Tatar linking the prosecution of the alleged usurpers of Greek Cypriot property with the ongoing procedure on the Cyprus issue, the Spokesperson reiterated that the Republic of Cyprus acts within the framework of the rule of law and the arrests for the usurpation of property concern the protection of basic human rights.

“Any attempt to turn criminal offences into a political issue, what it aims at, is essentially the derailment of the substance of the discussion”, he said.

The Spokesperson also said that the executive branch does not interfere in Justice in any way and that this was obvious in all states governed by the rule of law and in all democracies.

Letymbiotis said that beyond this, “we will continue to make every possible effort, not only through public statements”, but also through initiatives, “as we have done in the past”.

He said that dialogue was the first step for the desired progress in the Cyprus problem. “If indeed there is sincere political will on the other side”, he added.

To another question whether the “electoral” process in October in the occupied territories affects the new meeting on Cyprus at the end of July, he said that it was “certainly a parameter that is taken into account, but as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, rightly noted yesterday, we do not believe that there is time to waste”.

According to Letymbiotis, the Greek Cypriot side was preparing “very intensively” for the July meeting, noting that the composition of this multilateral meeting “allows for a discussion on the substance”. “We are ready, and we are seeking this discussion, on the substance, so that substantive progress can be achieved in the effort for restarting negotiations,” he said.

Letymbiotis also said that through the statements of the international community, whether this concerns the United Nations or the European Union itself, “this is the common goal and the common pursuit, substantive progress”.

“For us, the goal set for the July multilateral meeting is to bring us a decisive step closer to resuming negotiations from the point where they have been interrupted”, he stressed.

Letymbiotis was also asked to comment on that there were increasing indications and information that companies of Greek Cypriot interests were also involved in the alleged usurper cases. Moreover, he was asked whether there were any thoughts about prosecuting those involved and whether he shares the view that a moratorium on prosecutions should perhaps be imposed so as not to derail the effort to resume the dialogue.

The Spokesperson said that any information about Greek Cypriot involvement is being evaluated and investigated by the competent authorities. He stressed again that the usurpation of property is a criminal offense, and the competent authorities will operate on the basis of their own assessments and their own findings.

He also said that consciously linking the usurpation with the political dimension was “unfounded and dangerous”. Impunity and the violation of property or human rights cannot be set as a condition for talks or for an alleged indication of goodwill, he said.

( Source: CNA)