Özgürgün: “Five-party conference should take place by the end of June”

Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün has stated that the five-party conference to negotiate a settlement to the Cyprus problem should take place by the end of June.

His comments came after President Mustafa Akıncı briefed the political party leaders and representatives represented in the Assembly on the latest developments in the Cyprus negotiations process.

In a statement, Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün stated that the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey have taken positive steps during the negotiation process, and that the Geneva Summit, which was convened with the participation of guarantor countries, was the outcome of this approach. Özgürgün added that the aim of the summit was to reach a conclusion to the negotiations, however the Greek Cypriot side and Greece prevented this by requesting a break.

Pointing out that propaganda process for 2018 presidential elections has already begun in South Cyprus, Özgürgün said that the statements of the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades demonstrate that he is mainly focused on the elections, rather than reaching a solution in Cyprus.

Stating that the Geneva Summit should be continued, Özgürgün said, “A summit gathered after 53 years should not be abandoned. It looks like Greek Cypriot side has no intention of attending this summit, however the five –party conference should be held by the end of June”

Özgürgün stressed that the negotiation process cannot continue forever, and said that it would be unacceptable to drag out negotiations until February 2018 and to continue negotiations with the new Greek Cypriot leader after that.

The Prime Minister added that the Turkish Cypriot side should ensure the continuation of the Geneva process by the end of June, otherwise the necessary steps should be taken to emphasize the stance of the Turkish Cypriot side that the negotiations cannot continue forever.