ELAM President Christos Christou, speaking from the studio of the “Alpha Kalimera” show, expressed caution regarding possible developments in the Cyprus issue following the trilateral meeting between the two leaders and the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, ELAM President Christos Christou stated from the studio of the Alpha Kalimera program.
“We are quite cautious regarding the developments that may arise today,” Mr. Christou says regarding the Cyprus issue, noting that we are being called upon to respond to “unreasonable demands” from the occupying power.
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“The National Popular Front has always maintained that opening more roadblocks will not help resolve the Cyprus issue. On the contrary, we are helping to sustain an illegal economy that directly harms and competes with legitimate businesses operating in the Republic of Cyprus. One of the problems is that we are supporting the economy of a regime that Turkey is known to use for illegal activities, for illicit enrichment, and for money laundering—and our position remains the same: that we must seek, through the European Union of which we are a member, take such measures that will compel Turkey to come to the negotiating table.”
Mr. Christou argues that we must constantly press in this direction and “capitalize on” situations, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the sanctions imposed on Russia.
When asked to comment on the fact that Greek Cypriots are benefiting from the opening of roadblocks, such as in the case of Tillyria Tower, Mr. Christou stated that this particular area faces a number of problems.
“Even in this case, where opening the roadblock would have a practical effect, you can see that the other side remains unyielding.”
He points out and reiterates that ELAM opposes the opening of new roadblocks and states:
“We, for our part, should insist on the following: If you do not accept the Tillyria roadblock, we will not accept any others. And that ends the discussion.”
Commenting on Ms. Olgin’s statement that this is the last chance, he replies:
“Ms. Olgin can say whatever she wants. Ms. Olgin is obviously not the one facing a national issue. And it’s much easier to talk about others. What we have to say is that for 52 years that this land has been tormented, we’ve been nurturing hopes that, in our estimation, will lead nowhere. And we’re making the same mistake for the second time. That is, we view the Cyprus issue as something separate from other international developments and from developments in our region. Just as in 1974, we’re isolating our situation without seeing the broader context.”
“We have never said that we agree with the current government’s handling of the Cyprus issue,” he adds. “We have always maintained the same position and stance as we did toward the previous government,” he continues.
