There is no conclusion on the issue of Pyla and we are still in contact with the peacekeeping force, said the Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, in statements after the meeting of the National Council, the top advisory body to the President regarding the handling of the Cyprus issue, which convened on Friday at the Presidential Palace.

He said that the National Council discussed developments in Pyla, the Cyprus issue in light of the contacts of the UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenča in Cyprus and in view of the trip of President Christodoulides to New York for the UN General Assembly, as well as the issue of immigration.

He said that at the meeting there was a constructive, beneficial, meaningful discussion for which the President of the Republic wants to thank all political forces, political leaders and the former President of the Republic for their very constructive stance.

The President of the Republic, he added, proceeded to a thorough briefing regarding efforts to restart negotiations, but also in view of his trip to New York in the context of the UN General Assembly.

“From the first moment the President has undertaken specific initiatives, it has become clear that our side, the Republic of Cyprus, the President himself, we are ready for the immediate resumption of negotiations from the point they were left off”, he said.

The Government Spokesperson said that the President discussed with all the political leaders “and what we can say with satisfaction is that national goals demand national unity and that is exactly what we saw today in the National Council session”.

He said the President also briefed on the recent incidents in Pyla and on the diplomatic actions taken to prevent Turkish plans, resulting in an unprecedented international mobilisation.

According to the Government Spokesperson, political parties recognised the “right actions” of the Government, the President of the Republic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs to mobilise the international community, and the Declaration of the Security Council “which sets the framework within very specific parameters and reaffirms the support of the Security Council in the agreed framework, in the bizonal bi-communal federation with political equality, but also the need for the appointment of an envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the Cyprus issue, a position which the President has repeatedly emphasised to the Secretary General”.

Letymbiotis said that the immigration issue was also discussed and the President informed about the course of action, developments and the next steps that the Government is willing to undertake.

“What the President of the Republic has made clear is that this Government, in accordance with the governing programme of the President of the Republic, has set as a primary goal an effective immigration policy that will holistically address the issue,” he said.

The Government Spokesperson reiterated that it is known that Cyprus, as a frontline country, has received high immigration flows in recent years and immigration has emerged as one of the issues that concern society.

“What we have seen in the last four months, for the first time in the history of the immigration issue, is the reversal of the numbers, departures are more than arrivals for the first time, twice as many applications are being processed on a monthly basis than last year, 1,800 applications per month instead of 1,000,” he said.

The Government Spokesperson also said that the asylum application department has been staffed with 27 additional examiners and another 25 people will be recruited next month to further speed up the processes. He added that we are in the process of strengthening the existing infrastructure and creating new structures.

He referred to an appeal by the executive power to the political forces to advance as soon as possible the bill for the establishment of the Deputy Ministry of Immigration “which we consider to be self-evident from the procedures that have been set in motion that it will play a catalytic role in the further radical treatment of the immigration issue”.

He emphasised that it was a common line of the members of the National Council, and it is obvious and categorical “that through phenomena of violence, through incidents of provocation, which endanger lives, we cannot resolve the issue”.

“Violence begets violence and this is a message that we all send together. The Government, the Republic of Cyprus, the State will not tolerate phenomena of escalation of violence, phenomena that endanger public safety and this is non-negotiable”, he stressed.

Asked about the issue of Pyla and if we are close to an agreement, the Government Spokesperson said that “there is no conclusion”.

“We were and are in contact with the peacekeeping force. The framework has been set by the Security Council through its unanimous Declaration and this is to prevent Turkish plans to overthrow the buffer zone regime. This is also clear through the Declaration, to ensure the terms of the mandate of the peacekeeping force, to prevent the expansion of the occupation by the occupying regime,” he said.

Asked if the measures concerning Turkish Cypriots will be announced before the UN General Assembly, the Government Spokesperson said that the President of the Republic will decide this. He added that the measures have been finalised and will be announced when the President decides they should be announced. He said that they concern areas that affect the daily life of Turkish Cypriots.

When asked if there are political responsibilities for what happened in Chloraka and replying to a comment that MPs are asking for resignations, the Government Spokesperson said that the decision to take political responsibility is a constitutional authority of the President.

“We as a State, we are concerned with and have set as our goal to ensure public safety. It is the enforcement of the law through the organised bodies of a well-governed state and that is what we would expect and hope for at this time,” he said.

Speaking about the next steps in the Cyprus issue, he reiterated that the UN General Assembly has been set as a milestone on the occasion of taking the initiative to resume the talks and said that we look forward to these important contacts.

Also, when asked about Miroslav Jenča’s contacts in Turkey, the Spokesperson said that “we do not have any specific information so far, but we are sure that after reporting to the UN Secretary General, there will be a briefing before the President goes to New York or during his stay there”.

On Friday August 18, 2023 men of the occupation regime punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a U.N. controlled buffer zone.

The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Parikiaki.com