Christodoulides Proposes EU Oversight of Famagusta Port for UN-Controlled Varosha

Venizelos claimed that the proposal was based on previous initiatives and that President Tufan Erhürman and Turkish Cypriot negotiator Mehmet Dana initially appeared willing to discuss some issues but later changed their positions.

Proposal Involves Varosha and Famagusta Port

In an article published in Fileleftheros, Venizelos wrote that Christodoulides had raised the issue of Famagusta as a confidence-building measure in the Cyprus problem.

He said the proposal drew on earlier ideas, particularly initiatives discussed during Finland’s EU Council presidency in the second half of 2006.

According to Venizelos, the main elements of the proposal were the transfer of Varosha, the fenced-off area, to UN administration, followed by the return of its legal residents, and the operation of Famagusta Port under the supervision of the European Commission.

Venizelos wrote that the 2006 Finnish proposal had also included the lifting of Turkey’s restrictions on ships flying the “Republic of Cyprus” flag calling at Turkish ports and on “Republic of Cyprus” aircraft using Turkish airspace.

Turkey rejected the proposal at the time, according to the article, after which planned talks were cancelled, first at the technical level and later at the political level. Finland had also sought to help overcome the deadlock in Turkey’s EU accession negotiations at the time, the article said.

Other Proposals by Christodoulides

Venizelos also wrote that Christodoulides had put forward various proposals to the United Nations and the Turkish Cypriot side concerning issues affecting the daily lives of Cypriots, as well as several issues previously raised by the Turkish Cypriot side.

Christodoulides had also presented proposals aimed at facilitating talks and accelerating efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, according to Venizelos.

He claimed that some of these proposals had been positively received by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and his Personal Representative for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguín.

Claim That Erhürman and Dana Changed Positions

Venizelos further claimed that President Tufan Erhürman had failed to make progress in responding to and discussing some of the proposals.

The article attributed this to Turkey’s position and claimed that Ankara did not want progress on the Cyprus problem. Venizelos also suggested that Turkey could seek to gain time until UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ term ends and then pursue changes to the basis for a settlement.

He claimed that Erhürman had, on some occasions, appeared willing to discuss certain issues but had changed his position the following day.

Venizelos made the same claim about Turkish Cypriot negotiator Mehmet Dana.