Front Page Headlines
Illegal contributions to party coffers
Possible intervention by the European Parliament for checks on the allocation of funds of MEPs. Court vindication for (former EDEK MEP) Demetris Papadakis regarding EDEK’s demand to give part of his remuneration to the party. Similar practices in other parties. There is a precedent since procedures were launched against MEP Marine Le Pen who was paying employees of her party with EU funds. MEPs receive more than €36,000 per month as remuneration for their parliamentary action and their associates’ payroll.
- 5+1 summit: In New York, with Guterres in a crucial role
- Crisis in ‘parliament’: They are headed for early ‘elections’
- Five deaths & 288 new cases yesterday: A drop in cases but not in hospital patients
We have reached our limits
All sectors are in conditions of deep recession with hospital in panic mode. The health ministry is asking for 30 per cent of private hospital beds.
- The president favours intervention by Guterres to lift the impasse – He is ready to convene the five-party summit.
- (DISY head) Averof (Neophytou) had a chat with Harris and intervened on the ‘two states’
- AKEL to announce its party ticket (for May’s parliamentary elections) on January 30
Five ‘holes’ in the support schemes
The five holes in the latest support schemes announced by the government concern the limited scope of the loan repayment suspension scheme which covers only minimum cases, the non-extension of the suspension of foreclosures, not taking measures for evictions, rent issues and lack of liquidity in small-and-medium-sized enterprises.
- Lute has recorded positions & intentions
- They are discussing a two-state solution behind people’s backs – Averof says one thing, Harris says another.
DISY facing rift over federation
Deputy leader’s ‘realist view’ clashes with official narrative.
- (Photo caption) UN envoy back for talks – The UN’s Jane Holl Lute on her way to meeting President Anastasiades on Monday as she continues efforts to get the UN-sponsored informal five-party meeting off the ground.
- 472,000 SMS movement requests sent on first day
The Turks are negative until the last moment!
Coordination of statements in Turkey and occupied areas in favour of a two-state solution before and after the meetings with Jane Holl Lute. Anastasiades: Ready for dialogue without binding proposals and arbitration. Tatar: I will not discuss CBMs at the five-party summit. The five-party summit will take place in New York within February or early March.
- Jane Holl Lute: She is listening, making questions, suggestions but does not take a stand…
- ‘Government’ crisis: Towards early ‘elections’ in the occupied areas due to failure in electing a ‘House president’
- Greece-Turkey: They are starting contacts on January 25
Main News
Lute recorded sides’ opposing views, five-party summit to follow
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Statements after the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy Jane Holl Lute’s separate meetings with the two leaders revealed once more the opposing views of the two sides on the Cyprus problem, the papers report.
Lute had on Monday morning a two-hour meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades and another one in the afternoon with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar. The five-party summit is expected to take place in New York in February or at the beginning of March, depending on UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres’ schedule.
The dailies cite Government Spokesman Kyriacos Kousios announcing after the meeting that Anastasiades and Lute had a constructive discussion regarding the informal five-party summit to be convened by the UNSG.
Anastasiades expressed his readiness to participate in the informal five-party summit within the framework of the UNSG’s letter of October 26, 2020, Kousios said. “He also expressed the expectation that the informal five-party meeting will lead to a substantial resumption of talks, with the aim of reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem within the agreed solution framework.”
During his meeting, Anastasiades expressed the importance of promoting effective confidence-building measures (CBMs), as per the request of the UNSG, Kousios said, “which will create the appropriate climate and prospects for achieving the goal of resolving the Cyprus issue”.
“At the same time, he noted that unilateral actions do not help create the right climate, nor do they help towards the success of a new dialogue,” he said.
According to Kousios, Anastasiades will convene the National Council on Thursday morning to brief political leaders on his meeting with Lute, the dailies report. The UN official is expected to depart from the island on Tuesday evening.
The dailies report that Tatar insists on a two-state solution while he stated he would not discuss CBMs at the five-party summit.
Phileleftheros, citing information, reports that Lute expressed to the two leaders her concerns and asked for their intentions in the case the other side insists on its positions. The daily reports that Anastasiades reiterated his position that Guterres ought to do the same as in Crans-Montana, and present proposals but with the process remaining ‘Cypriot-owned’. Anastasiades also made clear that there was no issue of a change to the terms of the mandate, meaning no change to the basis of the negotiations.
According to Politis, Lute is leaving Cyprus tonight with a clear picture of the aspirations of the two sides. The views expressed by Tatar and Anastasiades make Antonio Guterres’ role crucial in avoiding an impasse at the upcoming informal meeting as the UN wants to see determination and commitment by the two sides.
From the moment that the informal meeting will take place in the presence of the UNSG, it is self-evident that he will have an essential role, the daily reported. The GC side clearly does not accept any form of arbitration, and no such attempt will be made, in any disputes that may arise and this is clear. However, it is not ruled out that Guterres might want to listen to what the two sides and the FMs of the guarantors have to say separately to note key positions and then make his decisions. If everything goes smoothly then there will be a joint press release describing what’s to come, the daily reported.
Alithia, citing sources, reported that in response to Lute’s question on how the GC side sees Guterres’ role at the summit, Anastasiades said the GC side wants the UNSG to retain the role he held during the Crans-Montana negotiations, without any arbitration or submitting binding proposals. Lute asked both sides to think about breaking the deadlock and dealt mainly with the procedural part of the five-party summit, asking questions while listening and without taking a stand, the daily reported.
Alithia also reports that Tatar and Turkey reiterated on Monday their propaganda in favour of a two-state solution with the TC leader telling Lute he would not discuss CBMs at the five-party summit. The positions of the Turkish side do not leave any margin for optimism while Guterres’ role is expected to be a defining one, the daily reports.
According to Haravgi, Lute recorded the two sides’ positions but also intentions as regards the day after the summit. The daily also cites statements by bicommunal platform Foni Kyprion (Cypriots’ Voice) that calls on the government to prove it unconditionally accepts the Guterres Framework and what has been agreed at the Berlin meeting as the strategic agreement for the solution of the Cyprus problem. The group also called for “an aggressive peace campaign and implementation of CBMs.”
In another article, Haravgi also reports that main opposition leader in the north, head of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhurman, called on Tatar to think again if he thinks that his positions on the Cyprus problem were those of the TC side.
KEY ACTORS
Kousios
>> Anastasiades ready to participate in informal summit in hopes this will lead to resumption of talks, with the aim of reaching a solution within the agreed framework.
>> Anastasiades believes promoting CBMs will create appropriate climate and prospects for Cyprob solution while unilateral actions by Turkey and TC side do not help create the right climate, nor do they help towards the success of a new dialogue.
Tatar
>> Wants to discuss a two-state solution.
>> Will not discuss CBMs at five-party summit.
Erhurman (CTP)
>> Hopes Tatar does not think his positions are those of the TC side.
DISY: BBF solution is the only way
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that head of ruling DISY Averof Neophytou made clear on Monday that his party’s standing position was a solution within the agreed framework of the bizonal, bicommunal federation (BBF), in a bid to disperse the shadows cast by recent statements by the party’s deputy head, Harris Georgiades.
Neophytou said in a written statement that the long-standing position of the Democratic Rally (DISY) since its establishment has been and remains a solution to the Cyprus problem within the agreed BBF framework with political equality as defined in the relevant resolutions and without guarantors and occupying armies. “And as was clear in the Guterres Framework, both Varosha and Morphou should be included in the territorial adjustments,” he said, adding that with Cyprus being an equal member of the EU, the solution must respect international law and European principles and values, for the benefit of all Cypriots. He said that these components were absolutely necessary in order for the solution to be accepted by DISY, which is a position the party has been communicating in all directions at home and abroad.
Neophytou also said that with Lute’s arrival, the effort to resume the dialogue from where it left off in Crans-Montana now resumes, adding that DISY was supporting this effort.
“The two states demanded by the Turkish side are the legalisation of the occupation and they can in no way ensure the survival of Cypriot Hellenism in its land,” he added. “Such thoughts are not and could never be DISY’s choice, the party that has been fighting and continues to fight countless battles for the liberation and reunification of the country.”
Phileleftheros reports that Neophytou’s statements aimed at addressing criticism outside and within the party concerning references that President Nicos Anastasiades was in favour of a two-state solution but also the interpretation of a recent article and interview of Georgiades.
Citing information, the daily reports that Neophytou and Georgiades had a meeting on Monday and agreed that the party leader ought to make a clear statement putting an end to this issue.
Neophytou’s statement was read before the party’s executive office. Georgiades, after Neophytou read his statement, said he was in full agreement with these positions, the paper reported.
The Cyprus Mail reports there is a rift within DISY over federation as a Cyprus solution after Georgiades stirred the waters within his party in a series of articles and interviews on his views for solving the Cyprus problem. His comments have led some to accuse the former finance minister of indirectly favouring a two-state solution, the daily reports.
Citing Georgiades’ interview with Kathimerini, published on Sunday, the daily reports that the DISY deputy head said that the last chance for a solution was in 2004. He argued that if at the time, a more effective negotiation had preceded and if AKEL had the elementary political courage, the Cyprus problem would have been resolved.
He also said that the notion of the BBF solution, the way DISY founder and former President Glafcos Clerides had envisaged it, was dead as today the risk of Cyprus remaining partitioned remains, as is the non-return of Morphou and Famagusta, while only joint sovereignty would be achieved. He also said that Clerides’ goal was the return of refugees to their properties, which at the time was feasible, but not anymore.
He said the GC side should not accept a federation for the sake of it, nor should the threat of partition lead it to accept solutions that will jeopardise GCs’ security and existence, the daily reports.
Alithia reported that Georgiades told Alpha TV on Monday that it was important to send some messages, both at home and abroad, that though the GC side wants a solution and remains committed to the Guterres Framework, it will not succumb to the pressure created due to the prolonged faits accomplis and agree to conditions that do not safeguard Cypriot Hellenism.
According to the daily, other DISY senior members reacted to Georgiades’ statements with Socratis Hasikos calling on him to clarify what he meant in his article, published also in Kathimerini earlier in the month, on a ‘new realism’. DISY MP Michalis Sofocleous said that Clerides would never compromise with the idea of partition and was urging the party to prevent such a possibility until the day he died, the paper reported.
Haravgi quotes AKEL spokesman Stefanos Stefanou who said that the government and ruling party were discussing a two-state solution behind closed doors, while DISY was confused, with its leader and deputy leader saying different things.
He said that at a time when there are more and more revelations that President Nicos Anastasiades was discussing a two-state solution behind closed doors, DISY’s deputy leader has expressed views on a “new realism” in the Cyprus issue, which consciously does not rule out partitionist solutions. He also called on DISY and the Presidential Palace to clearly say if they share Georgiades’ positions.
Stefanou also said that the majority of Cypriots would not compromise with the division of Cyprus and the final surrender of half of their country to the occupying power.
Alithia reports that DIKO called on the government to take a stand on Georgiades’ approach, arguing that it seems there was an intention to change the solution basis to an agreed partition through a confederation.
Haravgi also reported that the DISY leader, in a bid to alleviate reactions within the party, issued a written statement.
KEY ACTORS
Neophytou (DISY)
>> A BBF solution with political equality & without guarantors and occupying armies was and is DISY’s position.
>> An acceptable solution for DISY is one that is within the BBF framework, includes Varosha & Morphou in the territorial adjustments and respects international law & EU principles and values, for the benefit of all Cypriots.
>> A two-state solution, which is the Turkish side’s demand, would mean legalisation of the occupation while it does not ensure the survival of Cypriot Hellenism in its land.
>> DISY continues to fight countless battles for the liberation and reunification of the country.
Stefanou (AKEL)
>> Criticises Anastasiades & ruling DISY of flirting with the idea of a two-state solution.
>> Georgiades’ views on a “new realism” in the Cyprob, consciously, do not rule out partitionist solutions but the majority of Cypriots would not compromise with the division of Cyprus and the final surrender of half of their country to the occupying power.
DIKO
>> Wants the government to clearly state if it agrees or not with Georgiades’ approach which hints at an intention to change basis of solution to an agreed partition through a confederation.