GCC Press Review 16 June 2021

Front Page Headlines

Politis

Koushos, Emily, Prodromos in the reshuffle frame

The only definite change in the government is the one at the Health Ministry.

  • Biden-Putin: They talked but… they did not agree

Phileleftheros

Thanasis’ death was murder

Overturn after the examination of remains by specialists from Greece – The mother shouting for 16 years. They attributed the death to suicide, ruled out criminal activity and they must now begin new investigations.

  • The President to first meet with Lute and then with Guterres
  • New lawsuit by 190 citizens against the SafePass
  • Priest jailed for harassing underage girl

Haravgi

Averof in the background to pay off his debt to ELAM

DISY pushing Parliament down extreme and dangerous paths.

  • Putin-Biden touched on all the open and hot international issues

Cyprus Mail

‘We deserve UK green category’

Airlines call on UK to open up, Cyprus says it has the best statistics in the Med for virus variants

  • UK-Cyprus ties celebrated at Queen’s 95th birthday party
  • Not friends: Biden-Putin summit makes small gains

Alithia

The games AKEL is playing with the Presidency of ELAM

Intense confrontation over parliamentary committees. DIKO agrees that the presidencies of parliamentary committees should be given to small parties, rejecting AKEL’s position. Averof: Smaller parties should preside (over committees).

  • Study: 48% of Turks want the annexation of the occupied areas
  • Establishment of new centre: €19 million more for asylum seekers – Migratory flows from Turkey increased
  • Sexual harassment: 52-year-old Cypriot priest in jail
  • Biden-Putin take important decisions

Main News

Lute to meet with both leaders on June 22

Haravgi, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

The UN Secretary General’s (UNSG) Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute will be meeting both leaders on June 22, with Lute’s meeting with Anastasiades scheduled for 9:30am before meeting with TC leader Ersin Tatar at 1pm, the dailies report.

The dailies report that Tatar, commenting on his upcoming meeting with Lute, said that he will convey the position that negotiations could be held once the sovereignty of TCs is accepted, as he proposed through his six points in Geneva.

Phileleftheros reports that after his meeting with Lute, Anastasiades will be leaving for Brussels for the European Council summit, on the sidelines of which he will also meet with the UNSG Antonio Guterres.

Phileleftheros reports that through both meetings, Nicosia is hoping to secure progress that could persuade Guterres to call a second informal five-party summit. Towards this end, the paper reports that Lute’s meetings with both leaders next week will serve to assess whether the situation has changed at all since the last 5+1 in April. The paper adds citing information that Guterres is hoping for a second informal summit on the sidelines of UN General Assembly to take place in September in New York.

Even so, Phileleftheros writes that it’s still too early to know whether this is feasible, since much will depend on developments to take place both on the island and beyond. Among developments to affect the possibility of a second 5+1 in September is next week’s EUCO and the decisions to be taken there regarding Turkey, while Turkish actions on land and sea will also be a factor, Phileleftheros reports.

Phileleftheros reports that Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides described the EUCO set to take place on June 24 and 25 as being of crucial importance.

KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>>
To Lute, will convey the position that negotiations could be held once the sovereignty of TCs is accepted, as proposed through his six points in Geneva


Anastasiades: UK’s role critical in ensuring commitment to UN resolutions

Cyprus Mail, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

President Nicos Anastasiades said the UK’s role is “critical” in ensuring all parties remain committed to UN resolutions looking towards a bizonal, bicommunal federation (BBF), but also in impressing upon Turkey the absolute necessity for having an environment conducive for productive negotiations, the dailies report.

Addressing guests at the British High Commission’s party in Nicosia on Wednesday to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 95th birthday, Anastasiades said he hopes that Turkey will not move forward with illegal actions in the Cyprus EEZ or with violations of the status of Varosha or with the further militarisation of Cyprus, since, he said, any such acts would prove gravely detrimental to resuming the negotiating process.

Phileleftheros reports that Anastasiades also highlighted the need to adopt additional confidence-building measures (CBMs) with the aim of decreasing tension, noting that if the CBMs he submitted at the Geneva 5+1 are discussed in good faith, then agreement is possible.

Referring to the 300,000 Cypriots living in the UK, but also the 70,000 Britons living in Cyprus, Anastasiades said that people-to-people contact is a dynamic aspect of the relationship between the UK and Cyprus, expressing hopes that Cyprus will soon be upgraded to the UK’s green category to facilitate tourism.

Cyprus Mail reports that on his part, British High Commissioner Stephen Lillie said that with political will and commitment, and with flexibility and creativity, the two sides in Cyprus can find the necessary common ground to build a common future. Lillie said Britain welcomed and supported the efforts of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) to make progress through the informal 5+UN meeting which took place in Geneva in April.

Lillie said the UK will continue to work with urgency and determination for a successful follow-up meeting at the earliest opportunity. He added that the UK was clear that the established UN parameters of a BBF with political equality “were broad and flexible enough to accommodate the interests and aspirations of Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike”.

“I am convinced that it will be possible to find the necessary common ground between the two communities so that they can build a common future together in conditions of peace, security and harmony,” he said, adding that reunited, Cyprus can achieve its full potential as a regional hub of peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.

KEY ACTORS
Anastasiades
>>
UK’s role is critical in ensuring all parties remain committed to UN resolutions looking towards a BBF
>> UK should impress upon Turkey the absolute necessity for having an environment conducive for productive negotiations
>> Hopes Turkey will avoid illegal actions in the Cyprus EEZ or Varosha or the further militarisation of Cyprus, since any such acts would prove gravely detrimental to resuming the negotiating process
>> Need to adopt the CBMs he submitted at the Geneva 5+1, on which agreement can be reached if they are discussed in good faith

Lillie (UK)
>> With political will, commitment, flexibility and creativity, the two sides in Cyprus can find the necessary common ground to build a common future
>> UK welcomed and supported the efforts of the UNSG to make progress through the Geneva 5+1
>> UK will continue to work with urgency and determination for a successful follow-up meeting at the earliest opportunity
>> UK believes that the established UN parameters of a BBF with political equality are broad and flexible enough to accommodate the interests and aspirations of GCs & TCs
>> Reunited, Cyprus can achieve its full potential as a regional hub of peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean


North says EUCO draft conclusions proof of EU’s bias

Haravgi, Phileleftheros
EU Matters, Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

The draft conclusions of next week’s European Council summit prove that the EU continues to take a biased stance on the Cyprus problem, the office of TC leader Ersin Tatar said in an announcement on Wednesday, according to Phileleftheros.

The announcement said the EU has a duty to ensure there is balance among the two sides for a viable solution on the basis of the interests of both sides and to support a potential agreement, Phileleftheros reports.

The announcement added that common ground for the resumption of talks can only be found if the island’s current realities are accepted, and issued a renewed call for sovereign equality and equal international status.

Haravgi reports that Tatar also viewed the joint declaration of the MED7 Summit as biased, noting that if support is expressed for a federal solution in Cyprus, then “they have chosen a side,” and added that a response is being prepared that will be sent to the EU. Tatar added according to Haravgi  that he will continue to inform his interlocutors, including the UN and other interested parties, that negotiations so far have garnered no results, but that an agreement can be secured on the basis of two independent states that will live side by side.

KEY ACTORS
Tatar
>>
EUCO draft conclusions prove EU’s bias in Cyprob
>> EU has a duty to ensure there is balance among the two sides for a viable solution on the basis of the interests of both sides and to support a potential agreement
>> Common ground for the resumption of talks can only be found if the island’s current realities are accepted, which call for sovereign equality and equal international status


Study finds 48% of Turks want annexation of north

Alithia, Haravgi, Philleftheros
Governance & Power Sharing

OVERVIEW

The dailies report that a study conducted by the Kadir Has university in Turkey found that 48% of participants believe that the north must be annexed with Turkey.

The study was conducted between April 29 and May 21, 2021, across 26 Turkish provinces and included 1,000 participants who responded through personal interviews.

The dailies, citing TC media, report that the study, which sought to assess public opinion of Turkish Foreign Policy in 2021, found that the number of respondents in favour of the annexation of the north with Turkey rose by 8.5% compared to last year, with the figure now standing at 48%. This number is the highest it has ever been, TC daily Avrupa reported according to the dailies.

The study also found that 31% of participants said they were in favour of a bizonal, bicommunal federal solution in Cyprus. In response to the question of under which conditions should Turkey recognise the Republic of Cyprus, 37.3% said this should happen once the Cyprus problem is solved, while 28.2% said Turkey should recognise the RoC immediately and without conditions.

Responses also showed that Azerbaijan is considered the friendliest country to Turkey, while the US is at the top of the list of countries thought to be a threat to Turkey. The study also found that support for the accession of Turkey to the EU also rose.

Further, the study found that 76.1% of participants had never heard the term ‘Blue Motherland’ which Turkey employs in the framework of its policy in the Eastern Mediterranean.


Union of Cyprus’ Journalists honour Sami Ozuslu

Alithia, Haravgi, Phileleftheros
Negotiations Process

OVERVIEW

The Union of Cyprus’ Journalists (UCJ) honoured the departing president of the Association of Turkish Cypriot Journalists (KTGB), acknowledging Ozuslu’s strong contribution to the substantive development of bicommunal cooperation in the field of journalism.

Presenting Ozuslu with a gift to commemorate the event held in his honour on Monday, UCJ president Giorgos Frangos praised the cooperation he has shared with Ozuslu and the progress achieved in matters of mutual interest.

Frangos said he was certain that cooperation between GC and TC journalists will continue, since important areas of the field continue to require a collective approach, added that solidarity between journalists of both communities is a given.


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