‘Christodoulides may be only president not to negotiate Cyprus problem’

Former Disy leader Averof Neophytou raised the curtain on his 2028 presidential election campaign on Tuesday with criticism of incumbent President Nikos Christodoulides’ stance on the Cyprus problem, warning that he may be the “only president not to negotiate” with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart for a solution. He made reference to United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s assertion on Monday that “the favourable window of opportunity … is gradually closing”, and stressed that “great visions do not fit in divided homelands”. On this front, he said he had been “warning for about a year from the floor of parliament that we must not become trapped”. “You need to protect national interests, and in no way should you cross those red lines which have to do with the future of the country, but on the other hand, after five years, you cannot only record contradictory statements which create headlines in the moment,” he said. Related Articles • Christodoulides says ‘too early’ for 2028 presidential race • Annita announces run for president • Antoniou says Averof’s Cyprus problem rhetoric is ‘counterproductive’ • Disy stresses party rules will be followed after Averof announces presidential bid • Averof announces 2028 presidential bid • Mavroyiannis claims polls put him in ‘first place’ ahead of presidential race He then lamented that “there is no counterargument being made by the opposition”, before further criticising Christodoulides’ stance. “While it is proposed that we resume talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana, the president convened the National Council to explain the 19 new ideas he has submitted. Nikos Christodoulides may be the only president not to negotiate on the Cyprus problem,” he said. These words echoed the sentiments of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, who had a day earlier described Christodoulides’ 19 new points for discussion as “throwing a spanner in the works” when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had already demanded that progress be made on seven issues before an enlarged meeting be convened. “In that case, let’s bin off the seven points and have 19 points this time, and then I will bring 29 points at the next meeting. Of course, this will not lead us to a solution. This is an approach of a meeting for the sake of a meeting,” Erhurman said on Monday. Erhurman and Christodoulides during a meeting earlier this month ‘I am glad Mr Panayiotou confirmed the meal happened’ Earlier in his speech, Neophytou had addressed the issue of a meal he attended at a fish tavern in Nicosia in which it was alleged that plans were made regarding the 2028 election. On Monday, he had said he had earlier dined with “the closest of the closest of associates” of incumbent Disy leader Annita Demetriou, in which it was said to him that if he helped Demetriou be re-elected as House president in June, the party would “march united behind” him in 2028. This was denied by Chris Panayiotou, the publisher of newspaper Politis, a known close associate of Demetriou, who said that “the attempt to present a meal as a deal for the 2028 presidential election is, to say the least, ridiculous”. “There was no such deal and there could not have been. Who could really commit an entire party over a plate of food? … Taking a private conversation and turning it into a weapon for your own personal candidacy is petty. It does not show strength, it shows how low you are willing to stoop when your plans do not work out,” he said. In response, Neophytou said that “I am glad Mr Panayiotou confirmed that the meal took place”, before saying that his own decision, too, was not based on the outcome of that meeting. “My political decisions are based on political foundations, not meals, not menus, not wines, not champagnes, not whiskeys,” he said. Disy ‘almost in a silent coalition’ with Christodoulides’ government He then expressed reservations regarding the current political direction being taken by Disy, saying that the party has “almost been in a silent coalition” with Christodoulides’ government, despite declaring itself to be in opposition. “How will [the party] have a distinct and different political proposal when it has been ingrained even into our own members that we are one and the same; that we agree on foreign policy, that we agree on the Cyprus issue, that we agree on the economy?” he asked. “How can you be considered credible as an alternative proposal to gain power when you have been establishing for three and a half years that you are almost in a silent coalition?” “Nicholas Papadopoulos, the leader of the only pro-government party in parliament, has often made his differences with President Christodoulides much more distinct than Disy over these three and a half years,” he said. As such, he added, Disy will “have difficulties convincing people that it suddenly has an alternative proposal for governance”. Disy to hold ‘primary’ election on November 14 Then asked about comments made by former president Nicos Anastasiades, who warned of a “rift” inside Disy if Neophytou stands for election without the party’s backing, he said that “I will leave this issue to the judgment of the tens of thousands of Disy members”. “I have been watching in recent hours, in the last two days, some, not many, waving the flag of unity and political ethics at me – people who have made a mockery of unity, ethics, and political ethics,” Neophytou said. This was a likely reference to what some perceived as tacit support on Anastasiades’ part for Nikos Christodoulides’ campaign in 2023, despite Neophytou having been Disy’s endorsed candidate at that election. Disy members who wish to run for president in 2028 will be required to submit their candidacies on October 13, with the party’s membership set to hold its “primary” election to select which candidate to endorse on November 14. Neophytou was joined by Annita Demetriou in the race on Monday, while former health minister George Pamboridis had announced in July that he would seek the party’s nomination for the presidency.