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05 April, 2001
Visiting Cyprus House President Demetris Christofias met with Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis in Athens on Wednesday, and immediately afterward with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, who received him at noon.
During their meeting, Christofias and Simitis discussed the Cyprus problem, Greek-Turkish relations and the latest developments in the Balkans and surrounding regions.
Christofias is in Athens on an official visit, as a guest of the Greek Parliament.
In statements after his meeting with Kaklamanis, both Christofias and Kaklamanis criticized the international community and the European Union for their inaction in the face of Turkish intransigence and the belligerent statements made by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.
Referring to the Cyprus problem, Christofias noted that the Greek-Cypriot side had a duty to resist attempts to 'cover up' the intransigence and cynicism shown by Ankara and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and to 'restore the basis for meaningful and fruitful dialogue' for a solution.
Kaklamanis, on his part, noted the seeming 'superpower deafness' to the human rights convictions against Turkey by the European Court of Justice.
Asked whether the policy of Greek-Turkish rapprochement was paying off, Kaklamanis said he could see no progress on a political level, since this would have had an immediate impact on the Cyprus problem and Greek-Turkish relations. He added that Greek and Cypriot policy should continue to be moderate, however, but without abandoning fixed positions."
Meeting with Papandreou:
Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Wednesday received Cyprus Parliament Speaker Demetris Christofias, currently on a visit to Athens, for talks on the Cyprus problem and Cyprus' EU accession course.
Papandreou said that Cyprus was essentially entering the final stage in its accession negotiations, while he said there were indications that another UN initiative for resolving the Cyprus problem was in the offing.
The two men also discussed recent developments in the region, as well as the EU Gothenburg Summit's decisions regarding the accession of the first wave of candidate countries.
Christofias said that he and Papandreou had also discussed ways of dealing with reactions in Turkey and other countries to Cyprus' accession.
Papandreou was questioned about the reactions of some Cypriots to the policy of Greek-Turkish rapprochement, which many oppose.
The foreign minister replied that this was an emotionally-charged issue in Greece also, especially among former expatriates who came to Greece as refugees from Asia Minor, the Black Sea and Cyprus.
"The point, however, is what steps and policies we promote for the future, by changing relationships and overturning negative circumstances such as Cyprus' occupation."
He reiterated that rapprochement was not unrelated to the Cyprus issue but "on the contrary, it proves the insanity of Cyprus' occupation by proving that the two peoples can work together, stripping (Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf) Denktash of the arguments he has used for the past 30 years."
Asked to comment on the threats made recently by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem regarding the prospect of Cyprus' accession to the EU before the political problem on the island was resolved, Papandreou described Turkey's stance as 'contradictory'.
He said Cem's statements were proof of the impasse in which Turkey has found itself.
Athens' goal, Papandreou continued, was to create conditions that would put Turkey on the right course. At the same time, he added, Greece was prepared to handle any problems that might arise in its defense, its foreign policy and in the joint defense doctrine with Cyprus.
Christofias, meanwhile, said that the Cypriot Parliament did not dismiss Cem's statements as idle threats but took them seriously, planning its strategy accordingly.
Source: Athens News Agency
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