The issue of property and the arrests being made by the Republic of Cyprus of people accused of selling Greek Cypriot-owned property in the north was not raised by United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin during her meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Letymbiotis said the matter had not been discussed, and stressed that the arrests and court cases had not come about because of political interference.
“We will repeat this for the umpteenth time – the president himself has said it, that in every well-governed state, in every democracy, the executive branch cannot interfere in the judiciary,” he said.
Instead, he said, Friday’s meeting saw “an exchange of views in view of the multilateral conference in July”, before he praised Holguin’s “commitment to achieving further progress as we approach this critical period”.
He added that the Greek Cypriot side’s commitment to achieving progress has been “proven by the facts … through the very way in which the president has repeatedly positioned himself, but also through our very constructive stance”.
“What we will continue to do is to contribute positively and constructively in every possible way to the important work and efforts of Holguin and the UN secretary-general [Antonio Guterres] himself,” he said.
He went on to state that a tripartite meeting with Holguin and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar “would be beneficial and very useful”, though Tatar has this week twice ruled out meeting Christodoulides in light of the circumstances surrounding property.
Asked to comment on the fact that Holguin said after the meeting that she remains “optimistic” about progress on the Cyprus problem, he said the Greek Cypriot side “welcomes the fact she remains committed to progress”.
“As for Tatar’s statements yesterday, we, through our public statements, will continue on the path of responsibility and will continue to contribute positively, as we have contributed positively to date. For this reason, in the last two years, despite all the public statements, despite the attitude of the other side, progress has been made,” he said.
“We have come a long way. We are not where we would like to be, but we will continue to work in this direction and with a view to the multilateral conference in July, which is another opportunity to take a step closer to resuming negotiations.”
He added that Christodoulides has “submitted a series of proposals and has demonstrated our will and determination to hold a dialogue” and said that this effort “has been recognised by the international community”.
He then said that it is “important that the European Union is present in these efforts, through the appointment of its envoy”, Austrian Johannes Hahn.
Then asked if there has been any progress on the issue of confidence-building measures this week, he said that “the subject of discussions this week was more about Holguin’s contacts”.
Holguin also spoke after the meeting, describing it as “very good”, and saying that she had discussed with him the planned enlarged meeting which is set to take place in July.
She added that she will travel to Ankara on Monday to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, before travelling to Athens to meet Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and then returning to the island.
“I hope in July that we will arrive with some progress and continue to work with this trust, which is so important,” she said.
She was then asked if she is “optimistic”, and replied, “yes, I am always optimistic, and I think it is a good moment to deliver and to try to make the lives of people here easier”.
Tatar had said after his meeting with Holguin on Thursday that it is “not possible to talk about a healthy dialogue” between Cyprus’ two sides in light of the circumstances surrounding the matter of property.
He described the arrests as “a policy of political pressure and intimidation targeting our people through real estate on the part of the Greek Cypriot leadership” and said it has “nothing to do with the law”.
He then added that his reasons for rejecting the idea of a tripartite meeting were “very clear and principled”.
“So long as the Greek Cypriot leader continues to attack us, he will receive a similar response. I never give credence to threats and blackmail,” he said.
Christodoulides earlier this week insisted that the arrests “will certainly not stop, no matter what Tatar says”, adding that “illegality cannot be justified in any way”, but also somewhat distanced himself from the arrests, insisting that “we do not interfere in the judiciary”.
Two Hungarian nationals were handed prison sentences over the matter earlier this month, with the pair having admitted to promoting and advertising the sale of houses near Kyrenia on the internet.
Meanwhile, the case of a German national who reportedly spoke about selling property in the north to an off-duty police officer during a flight to Larnaca is ongoing, and arrest warrants have been issued for four Turkish nationals in connection with developments in the Famagusta district village of Lefkoniko.
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