Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has discussed security, avoiding past actions, and bilateral relations, with US Vice President Joe Biden after meeting for approximately an hour on Thursday.
After their meeting, government spokesperson Nikos Christodoulides said that the discussion had been constructive, honest, and open.
On the security issue, Christodoulides said: “There is a need – through the solution of the Cyprus problem – for Cyprus to be able to continue and further strengthen its role as a security provider in the especially important area of the Eastern Mediterranean, something which the President made special reference to during his speech to the UN General Assembly.”
Christodoulides mentioned that they also discussed the need to avoid processes, which were followed in the past, and affected in their own way the final result.
“They also discussed bilateral issues, with energy being the primary focus in the presence of the Deputy Secretary of State, where discussions looked at the prospects that exist in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” he said.
Biden expresses readiness to end occupation
Christodoulides had said that the US Vice President had expressed his readiness to aid until his last day in office in ending the occupation and reunifying Cyprus.
Asked if Biden had sent a message to the Turkish President during their meeting, Christodoulides said that yesterday an extensive discussion was held with the Turkish President on the Cyprus problem, on which Biden informed President Anastasiades.
Greek Cypriot position
Christodoulides mentioned that President Anastasiades had informed Biden on the Greek Cypriot position, which is that everything will be dependent on the result. He said: “There is significant progress notices, there are significant disagreement and difficulties, less on the property issue, and more on the chapters of territorial adjustment and guarantees.”
He added that the President will present to the public a plan that does not contain uncertain constructs, a plan, which is clear and in no case will lead to a solution that does not acknowledge the concerns of the Cypriot people. “And the President knows very well what the concerns of the Cypriot people are,” Christodoulides said.
Asked about a meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had on Wednesday – where no reference had been made to the guarantee issue – and whether the security issue was discussed today, Christodoulides said that security and guarantees are in the same chapter at the negotiating table, and in the framework of a solution to the Cyprus problem there cannot be guarantees from third countries or foreign troops on the island.
On the meeting between Erdogan and Tsipras, the government spokesperson said that the Cypriot side was informed after the meeting on what had been discussed in regards to the Cyprus problem, “which I must say was one of the main topics of discussion.”
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