‘International pressure has not had desired effect’
In the past few days other scenarios have been put forward, such as the likelihood of a deterioration in relations between Greece and the US in the event of a «no» vote by the Greek Cypriots. Do these concerns have any basis? I think the answer to that question was given by the State Department’s press spokesman who took a favorable view of the Greek government’s position in the question of the referendum. If you will allow me to digress here, I think the Greek government’s stance on the Annan plan was akin to making a circle into a square, if you know what I mean. It has also been said that a rejection of the plan would harm Greece’s relations with the rest of the European Union regarding economic programs, farm policy and so on. Is this likely? No, it isn’t, particularly after the position we took. That is why my comment of making a circle into a square was no coincidence. It is exactly what I mean. That is, all the interested parties expressed their satisfaction with the Greek government’s position. Do you believe that all this intense pressure or interest, shown by the US and Britain mainly, will influence Cypriot voters positively or negatively? That is a very good question. If one takes into consideration the opinion polls, it has probably not had the desired effect.
