The President of the Republic presided over a meeting of the National Council - May 12, 2010
2010-05-14 13:14:39
The President of the Republic Mr. Demetris Christofias presided over a meeting of the National Council. After the meeting, the Government Spokesman Mr. Stephanos Stephanou made the following statement to the press:
"The meeting of the National Council, which lasted several days, continued today in a very constructive climate. The President of the Republic expressed his positions today and replied to all the questions and positions that were raised in the previous meetings of the National Council on the various issues of the Cyprus problem. There was a dialogue, the President summarized several issues and it was agreed that, at the next meeting of the National Council on 19 May, the dialogue will continue on the specific issues and on those summarized by the President of the Republic and that until then the parties will be able to submit specific issues that can be discussed at the meeting of the National Council.”
Asked if President Christofias left the possibility for the discussion on the rotating presidency open, Mr. Stephanou replied:
“All these matters have been discussed many times as well as the issues concerning our proposal for the executive power, which of course does not only include the rotating presidency; there is also the weighted vote, which is very important. And as far as the issues of changing positions or withdrawing positions are concerned, the President’s positions are known, as they have also been expressed in the letter he has sent to the President of the Democratic Party and submitted at the meeting of the National Council.”
Mr. Stephanou added that “the [current] position is that the negotiations process is open, it is taking place on a principle which envisages that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. There is a continuous assessment and evaluation of the progress of the process; if the President, who is the negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side, considers it necessary or decides at any given time, he can make changes to positions, he can withdraw positions, he can put forward new positions, he can make amendments and this is an issue that the President has raised very clearly from the start.”
Asked if a lot depends also upon the first meeting of President Christofias with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr. Dervis Eroglu, Mr. Stephanou said: “This is an issue that was discussed and our analysis should take into consideration the fact that we now have a new leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community and this certainly counts. This is why we stress that we must show the necessary composure and self-restraint to see how things turn out at the negotiating table. Our will to continue the negotiations is a fact, just like the President expressed it in the letter he sent to the UN Secretary-General. He had put forward some positions, which were accepted by the UN Secretary-General and so we are waiting for the resumption of the negotiations.”
Invited to say whether one could hope for unanimity among the parties after today’s dialogue at the National Council, the Government Spokesman noted: “Unity is what is at stake and I stress this because unity does not necessarily mean that we all agree on everything. I believe there is ground for convergence on various issues; besides, through discussion it became obvious that there is a possibility for convergence on various matters. However, an important thing is the way in which disagreements and different approaches and interpretations on various issues are expressed, and also important is the climate that is being shaped during public discussion, the way in which it unfolds many times.
Where there is respect and tolerance for the other position I believe there can also be unity with one fundamental objective: To support the negotiator in the negotiations he is conducting and the efforts he is making for the resolution of the Cyprus problem; because the goal is to resolve the Cyprus problem, terminate the occupation and reunify Cyprus.”
