Cyprus-Forum.com

[halil]

TRNC FM Hüseyin Özgürgün has responded to statements made by the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kiprianu criticizing the Turkish Side’s stance at the talks. He said that the Greek Cypriot Side’s statements, which came at a critical period in the negotiations process, were part of a deliberate campaign aimed at poisoning the political atmosphere in the process.

Responding to the statements, the TRNC Foreign Minister reminded that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had urged both sides in Cyprus to refrain from issuing statements accusing or blaming each other.
He however complained that the Greek Cypriot Side was using every opportunity to put the blame on the TC Side for the slow progress of the talks.

He noted that Kiprianu even managed to distort the content of the New York meeting and underlined the fact that the tripartite meeting had been held in line with an invitation from the Secretary General who had wanted to listen to the views of both sides on the outstanding issues.
Özgürgün described Kiprianu’s claim that the TC Side did not want to negotiate the chapters as groundless.

The TRNC FM once again laid emphasis on the TC Side’s demand towards achieving a fair, sustainable and comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem.
Explaining that the Greek Cypriot Side was concerned about the UN Secretary General taking on a more active role in the negotiations process with the aim of creating momentum in the process, he said the Greek Cypriot Side thus tried to provoke the TC Side through blackmailing, in an effort to prevent any positive progress from taking place.
“The TC Side will continue to work for a solution, bearing in mind the ‘natural timetables’ as referred to in Ban’s Good Offices Mission report” the Minister noted.
Özgürgün also pointed out that TC people needed to be reassured that they would not once again pay the price of a non-solution in Cyprus as they did following the Annan Plan.

The TRNC Foreign Minister also underlined the need for the international community to acknowledge the fact that the Greek Cypriot Side was hiding behind its international recognition to realizing its ill intentions of spreading its sovereignty to the whole of Cyprus and to lower the state of TC's to that of a minority.
“The Greek Cypriot Side must be warned on these issues” Özgürgün concluded.

[Ethem]

Is it just me or can anyone else liken Mr Kyprianou and Mr Ozgurgun to Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson

Political mind games which do not help the negotiations...They are just aimed at trying to get some leverage over each other during the negotiations but in fact all they are doing is making it impossible

[halil]

Is it just me or can anyone else liken Mr Kyprianou and Mr Ozgurgun to Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson

Political mind games which do not help the negotiations...They are just aimed at trying to get some leverage over each other during the negotiations but in fact all they are doing is making it impossible

Yes ....both sides are playing the game very well..... both sides are happy with their status. As long UN does not take the control. They will play the game and blame each other. We are the loosers all the time.