Cyprus Talks: Anastasiades broke his promise on gas search - Akinci

President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, Mustafa Akıncı has lashed out at counterpart, Nicos Anastasiades for breaking his promise on gas search in the Mediterranean.

According to him, Anastasiades had promised at a social meeting on May, 15, 2015 that he would refrain from any hydrocarbon activities around the divided island.

This is what truly lies behind his latest statement that the talks cannot begin, he said, adding that any step taken by the Greek Cypriot side on the hydrocarbons issue will be met by counter steps from the Turkish Cypriot side.

Turkish Cypriots too have rights. That is why we have issued Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) a license, he added.

Akinci made the comments when speaking on a televised programm on Thursday night. 

Speaking on the collapsed talks in Crans Montana last year, Akinci said said that the negotiations had reached a five-party conference as a result of the efforts of the Turkish Cypriot side. He pointed out that the Greek Cypriot leadership did not want to share any powers or authorities with the north and as soon as the talks in Crans Montana had ended, Anastasiades announced that he had withdrawn all his proposals from the table.

Akinci said the Turkish Cypriot side in response had taken back the map it had presented.

He noted that the UN Secretary General was expecting the two sides to come together and to make a joint statement.

It’s not enough to say the same thing. It’s important that you mean the same thing, he added.

At the point reached, the UN Secretary General will appoint and send someone within the framework of his good offices mission. We shall be asking that person to ask Mr. Anastasiades where he stands, Akıncı said.

Akinci said that things would have been quite different if the Greek Cypriots would have been able to come to terms with the idea of establishing a partnership for the future and acted with a different vision.

When asked to comment about what was going to happen in the process next, Akıncı said “I want everyone to see a solution and peace. This island has experienced pain and tears. We want to benefit from the fruits of a settlement”.

According to him, he and his team had done all that could be done.

I look back to see what else we could have done and I can’t find anything. We as the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey had made the necessary concessions, he said.

He pointed out that a joint Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot committee should be established to deal with the natural gas issue, and according to him, such a committee would be a confidence building measure.

BRT