“We are waiting for the results of the elections. I am sure that the new Greek prime minister will appoint himself. I wish for a good vote, to express the hope that there will be a stable government in Greece. This is the main issue and be sure that the first contact after the elections will be between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus”, said the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulidis.

Mr. Christodoulidis made this statement on the sidelines of the First Lady’s event, at the Presidential Palace, on the occasion of Children’s Day, where – among other things – he answered a journalist’s question about what Cyprus expects from the new Greek government especially in relation to the Cyprus issue.

Asked to refer to the developments in Russia, the Cypriot president said: “I am following the developments in Russia with great attention, I have been informed and more specifically, beyond what has seen the light of day and I am sure, seeing all this, that it will also be an issue that will occupy the European Council meeting next Thursday”.

Asked about the draft Conclusions of the upcoming European Council, he said that “the European Council is the first of three milestones that have been implicitly set in our effort to restart the talks. It is also the NATO Summit in Lithuania and then, where it all culminates, the United Nations General Assembly.

To express my satisfaction with the fact that there is a reference to the Cyprus issue in the draft, because the Cyprus issue is not on the agenda of the European Council and precisely because of our own initiative, the mobility that through our own efforts we are trying to create, the our partners have included in the draft a specific reference to the Cyprus issue which is strengthened each time.

You realize that the Synod is on Thursday and Friday, so the proceedings are still ongoing. There are contacts at the technocratic level, I will also have at my own level with leaders of other states before the Summit, so that a positive message about the readiness of the EU comes out.

Our goal is to break the deadlock and restart the talks. And what is being done in the EU, the response we see from our partners, the decision of the institutions to include a reference to the Cyprus issue, I believe is a positive development that sends messages in all directions.

From here on, the NATO Summit is the first Summit that the Turkish President will attend after his re-election, and within the framework of his presence there, there will be several meetings with European leaders, with leaders of EU member states, who in these discussions they will also refer to the Cyprus issue, the need to restart the talks, the role that the EU can play in relation to the desire expressed by the Turkish President for progress in Euro-Turkish relations.

“Well, with the European Council meeting next week, the results of our own initiative begin to be officially recorded, which we hope will culminate with the resumption of talks.”

To a journalist’s remark that it is a positive step because it is the first time that a reference to the Cyprus issue is included, the President said: “It is not the first time that a reference to the Cyprus issue is included in the Conclusions, but it is not a matter of discussion. And the report comes out of our own initiatives, our own initiative was recognized by our EU partners who are with us in this effort. I believe that our effort to bring results officially begins now. The goal here is what we are aiming for, nothing else, is how the deadlock is broken and the talks resume.”

When asked, the President said that “certainly before the conclusion of the consultations it would not be wise for me to publicly say that I am satisfied with the draft. We are in the third draft at the moment and until the European Council there will certainly be other drafts and we are in consultation both at the technocratic level, at the diplomatic level and at my own level, I will have a number of telephone communications with European leaders”.

When asked with which European leaders he has already spoken, the President said: “With those who, through the relations they maintain with Turkey, can help us achieve the goal of resuming the talks.

Regarding the discussions taking place at the level of Permanent Representatives in Brussels, I want to say that all the EU Member States see the need to restart the talks and all the Member States. There is no one who said that talks should not resume or that the EU should not play a leading role. Everyone sees this added value of our own proposal, our own initiative, and where the discussions are focused is how we can best reach this result.”

Asked if he is optimistic, Mr. Christodoulidis said: “I am optimistic and I will do everything possible to reach this goal. Now, this effort of ours for the need to break the impasse is beginning to be reflected in official texts. It is the first milestone. We have the NATO Summit, which I think is very important and culminates with the UN General Assembly. In fact, there will also be a meeting on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus with the UN Secretary-General, precisely, on the one hand to convey our messages and our efforts individually, but also to see how together, in cooperation, we succeed this goal”.

To a journalist’s remark that the Turkish Cypriot leader stated that actions are being taken to open the roadblock in Mia Milia, and when asked if there are discussions about this, the President said that “no, there is no discussion about opening roadblocks in Mia Milia. There is no such request before us for consideration.”

In another journalist’s note that the migratory flows are continuing and asked if, in light of the incident off Pylos, the government is worried about its actions to avoid such an incident in the territorial waters of Cyprus, the President of the Republic said “of course, and what happened recently is a tragic development and in our case always, even though we have a huge problem with irregular immigration. And indeed in the last few days we see increased flows. We always move within the framework to protect these people and from then on, always within the framework of international legality, to follow all relevant procedures.

For the Republic of Cyprus it is one of the biggest problems we have to face today. For this on the first day, through specific actions, either strengthening the people who examine the applications, or through the consolidation of procedures, or through our proposal for the establishment of the Ministry of Migration, or to the EU whose help we need to tackle the problem, there are some first results. Are we satisfied? No. This effort should be continuous, especially in the next two to three years to be able to deal with this issue.”

In response to a journalist’s comment that the Minister of the Interior recently had a meeting with his European counterparts on Immigration and there were some commitments and when asked if these commitments can be put into action, the President said that “by themselves no. I consider an important first step, the agreement reached at the level of interior ministers on the Migration Pact. It is a first step after so many years of negotiations.

I cannot but welcome the fact that EU Member States have voluntarily agreed to send migrants to their countries. It is a first step, but without cooperation with the EU we cannot achieve our goals.”