President Mustafa Akıncı: “I am not thinking of appointing a new negotiator at present”

President Mustafa Akıncı has stated that the negotiation process may begin again if a mentality change occurs in the Greek Cypriot side but added that he is not minded to appoint a new negotiator under the present conditions.
“I am not thinking of appointing a new negotiator at the moment. The reason for this is very clear. We do not intend to carry on with the same negotiation process for another fifty years as nothing has been achieved before”, said President Akıncı.
Stating that endless consultations between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot negotiators can no longer be acceptable, Akıncı said that any future negotiation process must be results-oriented and time-limited rather than open-ended.
President Akıncı emphasized that a negotiation process will only be considered if the Greek Cypriots accept the political equality of the Turkish Cypriots and a strategic agreement looks to be achievable.
Akıncı stated that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not yet appointed a new Adviser on Cyprus, indicating that such an appointment is not urgent.
President Akıncı stated that efforts to seek a solution would continue for so long as the Cyprus problem exists, but added that continuing with the same attitudes and the same methods would bring the same results. Akıncı said that approaching the Cyprus problem with a different method is the only way of finding a solution to the problem.
Congratulating Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades for his victory in the recent elections in the South, as well as the runner-up Stavros Malas for his performance, Akıncı said: “I hope that during his second term Anastasiades will follow a more realistic and constructive policy for a comprehensive settlement.”