Cyprus Talks: Anastasiades blasts Eide, tells him to speaks less

Greek Cyprus president, Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday called on UN Special Adviser to Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, to talk less before adding that the UN envoy should have learned from the experiences of his predecessors who had created problems within one community or the other.


Anastasiades made the remarks on the sidelines of a charity basketball game in Nicosia and noted that it has been said repeatedly that this is a Cypriot-owned dialogue.

According to Cyprus Mail report on Sunday, Anastasiades expressed his regret that Eide appeared to be adopting positions from one side and said any intimidation or pressure when it came to the Cyprus problem would lead to a negative effect.
  
Anastasiades was asked about his opinion on statements made by Eide that he agreed with the position of Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci that the UN could submit bridging proposals but it must be requested by both sides.

“Although arbitration isn’t recommended, the UN could develop its bridging role between the two sides”, Akinci said in a speech at a forum organised by the Bahcesehir University in Istanbul on Saturday.

In response, Anastasiades said;

“In principle we particularly regret the fact that the special adviser to the secretary-general tends to adopt positions that are expressed from one side.”

“We have said repeatedly that these talks are Cypriot owned. We do not want arbitration… this was an agreement… we do not want timetables and we constantly hear about the risks that may arise if the talks are prolonged,” Anastasiades added.

He then added that he wanted Mr Eide to realise something… that intimidation achieves the opposite effect. 

Eide needs to realize that "with these statements or such an intimidation, will achieve the opposite results"  adding that "the less said, particularly on behalf of Eide, the better".

 Anastasiades who said he did not wish to enter into a personal conflict with Eide said he plans to write a letter to Guterres drawing his attention to statements that can cause mistrust or give the impression that the positions of one side was being adopted at the expense of the other.

Cyprus Mail