NIKOS CHRISTODOULIDES

Ukraine war bolstering Cyprus’ positions

In Kathimerini interview, presidential hopeful calls for end to deadlock with Turkey, with more active EU, US role

Ukraine war bolstering Cyprus’ positions

The European Council should appoint an influential political figure to oversee the Cyprus problem, Nikos Christodoulides, the Mediterranean island’s former foreign minister and an independent candidate in February’s presidential elections, tells Kathimerini in an interview.

Proposing that the political aspect of the problem should be included on the agenda of EU-Turkey ties, Christodoulides also says that the United States could play a leading role in forging cooperation schemes in the wider region that would fill the vacuum created by its gradual withdrawal from the area.

On the subject of Cyprus’ upcoming elections, he says that he will seek to form a national unity government if he is made president.

You were in Athens recently, where you met with all the political leaders and other officials. What was the subject of your meetings?

The Cyprus issue is always at the top of the agenda: how we can break the deadlock and resume talks. Speaking of the Cyprus issue, we always need to consider the international context in which we have to operate; and, at the moment, we see an EU which is rightly reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite the cost that this entails – an invasion that is in no way different from [Turkey’s] invasion of Cyprus in 1974. I believe that the EU is the pillar on which Greece and Cyprus must hinge their efforts to restart [peace] talks. More specifically, Ankara will only sign up to a solution for the Cyprus issue if it sees potential benefits for Turkey, not the Turkish Cypriots. For some time now, there have been a number of issues in the context of EU-Turkey relations on which absolutely no progress has been made. We know that Turkey would like to resolve these issues – issues such as upgrading the existing customs union, visa liberalization, the aviation agreement. The basket of EU-Turkey issues is full. I believe that the Cyprus issue must be added to it. I should note that thanks to actions undertaken by Nicosia and decisions by the EU27, many chapters in the bloc’s accession talks with Turkey have been frozen for quite some time. All that will have to be discussed with Turkey in talks which will, of course, remain under the purview of the United Nations, but with the EU playing a leading role. The way we see it, this should be undertaken at the European Council level, not the European Commission. We do not need a technocrat in charge; we need an influential European political figure to be appointed by the European Council to undertake this effort. A person who could sit down and talk with the Turkish president, someone with a deep knowledge of EU-Turkey issues and of the Cyprus problem. All of this would be broached together so we could achieve a state of affairs that would be mutually beneficial.

‘The vast majority of Turkish Cypriots would not agree to a solution outside the UN framework. They also believe that their best hopes for overcoming the deadlocks they live with is the prospect of EU membership’

Given that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also said that he would prefer a different approach to the Cyprus issue, do you believe that Ankara could be interested in your proposal?

Going back to what I said earlier, developments in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion have also reinforced our argument that there can be no two-state solution or partition or annexation of occupied territories by Turkey. So, this is out of the question, not only in Nicosia but also – and this is something everyone would agree on – on an international and European level. We all saw the reaction of the international community to the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories by the Russian Federation. The same would apply to Cyprus. Furthermore, although the current Turkish-Cypriot leadership has fallen in line with Turkey, the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots would not agree to a solution outside the UN framework. They also believe that their best hopes for overcoming the deadlocks they live with is the prospect of EU membership. This is why I believe that the EU would be embraced by all sides.

The administration in the breakaway north recently threatened to expel the UN peacekeeping mission from the occupied territory. Meanwhile, Turkey is constantly threatening to prospect for and exploit natural gas and oil deposits inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone. Do you believe that – bearing in mind that Cyprus is also in a pre-election period – some of these threats could materialize?

When we speak about Erdogan, Athens and Nicosia must never rule out any move. He has proved to be unpredictable. What we see on the Turkish-Cypriot side, with Turkey’s backing, is an effort to undermine the Republic of Cyprus. And since this cannot be achieved internationally, they resort to other acts, such as the letter to the UN which seeks to challenge Security Council Resolution 186 of March 4, 1964. It was the first resolution following the withdrawal of Turkish Cypriots from the government which recognized the Republic of Cyprus as the country’s legitimate government – and they are now trying different ways to challenge its existence. They are effectively promoting a two-state solution. I repeat, and I will never tire of doing so, that we must look at the international context. Amid the crises and problems, current circumstances have also created opportunities for restarting efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue, with the EU playing a leading role. In the meantime, Greece and Cyprus are subject to an endless string of threats from Erdogan. The reaction from Athens and Nicosia is good, but it is not enough. The message must be conveyed to the other countries in the region: Any destabilizing move from Turkey will not just affect Greece and Cyprus, but also Israel, Egypt and other countries in the region.

The Americans seem to want a closer relationship with the Republic of Cyprus. The further easing of the arms embargo is only the latest example. Could this relationship evolve into a more tangible form of cooperation? Already, we have the 3+1 regional partnership.

Sure, there were significant developments, most importantly the lifting of the embargo. There were more, like for example the establishment in Cyprus of the CYCLOPS regional training center, which is owned by Cyprus and funded by the US. The decision to lift the arms embargo reflects the level of our relationship and it is the outcome of a process that started under the previous administration. It is positive that the US does not approach Cyprus through the prism of either the Cyprus problem, or Turkey and this is indeed also thanks to the great job done by the diaspora in the US and Senator [Bob] Menendez, who has been the driving force behind the campaign to lift the embargo. It is also thanks to the actions of Greece and Cyprus which, on a regional level, with their trilateral cooperation schemes involving the states in the region and the creation of the Cairo-based energy forum, demonstrate their importance as countries which promote security and stability. We have to look at the big picture. And what is that big picture? The US is gradually withdrawing from the wider Middle East region. This creates a vacuum, which will either be filled by the like-minded states of the region – Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – or we will allow other states in the region, or from further away even, to assume a leading role. As far as relations with the US are concerned, we have moved from words to deeds. What could be the next step? The US could play a leading role in formalizing cooperation between like-minded states in the region. We have seen efforts to create a cooperation scheme in the Middle East in all fields which would also convey a message of stability and security in the region; which would convey a message to outside actors who might want, for their own reasons, to undermine stability in the region.

It is estimated that Cyprus will be in a position to export natural gas by 2026-27. The electricity interconnector between Africa and Europe is moving along. Could Cyprus play a role in cutting Europe’s dependence on Russian gas?

Europe is indeed making a mammoth effort to quit Russian natural gas. It was in that context that the EU made deals with Egypt, Azerbaijan and Israel. What Nicosia should do, in partnership with Israel, is to present Brussels with the data and ask from Europe to financially – and not just financially – support the development of the region’s resources which could, to some extent, help cut dependence on Russian energy. We must make use of the quickest solutions. At the moment, given available data, Egypt is the quickest solution. It has two terminals that the EU could rely on.

You are running in the elections as an independent candidate. Polarization has intensified in recent weeks. Will the different sides be able to reach a consensus, at least on key issues, after the runoff vote? What is your message to voters?

Indeed, there is tension. There is a conscious, deliberate effort to up the ante, to create polarization in order to rally the party base and voters. I understand that such things are to be expected in a pre-election period. The point is to form a government that would enjoy the widest possible consensus after the elections. Thiat is what I am aiming for, as I have often stated in public, so that by working together we can deal with the major challenges that we are facing and which are not tied to a particular party or ideology. A young person’s effort to find a decent job, for example, is not affected by whether he belongs to the left or to the right. It is something that we must grapple with, and I believe that the conditions are ripe for this. A government enjoying the broadest possible consensus is a social demand. We are at a turning point, political, social, economic. Solutions cannot emerge from a partisan-based approach. Sure, a party’s position is important but this is not a parliamentary election, but a presidential one. We should be concerned about the fact that a significant percentage of our fellow Cypriots, around 35 percent, consciously choose to abstain from the election process. We must not marginalize these people but to convince them to take part in the vote and, through their participation, in the country’s governance. If the people honor me with their vote, my intention will be to form a national unity government.

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