Small states must read and be very well informed about international developments and work based on a specific plan and design, to strengthen all their elements of power, said the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, on Friday, adding that “this is what we are doing today as the county’s government.”
Addressing a conference on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of the EOKA struggle, the President analysed the Makarios – Harding negotiations in the Independence Agreements, talking about the diplomatic history of the Cyprus issue during the period 1955-1959.
He said that, in seeking the reasons why external factors were decisive in the diplomatic history of the Cyprus issue and which he believes, as he said, still exist today, we must first point out the geographical location of the island at a crossroads of great geostrategic importance in the wider Middle East.
This is something we see today, he noted, and if we exploit it correctly on our part, it is an important advantage for serving our goals and aspirations.
From studying the diplomatic history of Cyprus during the period in question, it is clear, the President said, that Turkey has been consistent in its goals and aspirations regarding the form and content of a solution to the Cyprus problem, in contrast to the policy of the Greek side.
“In contrast to Ankara’s clear goal and persistent, well-planned, and systematic efforts, if not for its immediate implementation, then for the gradual creation of the appropriate foundation, Athens and Nicosia are constantly wavering, with the result that in most cases the events themselves exceed the objectives, forcing a change of course and direction,” said President Christodoulides.
In particular, he said, “the Greek side will be led to successive changes of objectives and waste of resources, diplomatic and otherwise, because it will be dragged along by events, unable to calmly set its goals in a spirit of realism and awareness of the influences of international developments and information, before the events themselves force a change of course”.
“The main conclusion of my presentation is the decisive role played by external factors in the diplomatic history of Cyprus during the period in question. I do not wish, in any way to give the impression that the Greek side was powerless or that its role and actions were insignificant, since the content of any plan for a solution to the Cyprus problem would in any case be the product of international political circumstances to the detriment of its own interests,” he stressed.
Factors, he said, such as clear positions, stability of goals and aspirations, avoidance of actions that conflict with regional and international realities, efforts to align interests with the forces of the time, and the excellent relations between Athens and Nicosia at the substantive level and not at the level of press releases, could certainly, if not neutralize, at least mitigate the impact of such factors, essentially resulting in the exploitation of an initiative which, although it may have had a different purpose, could under certain circumstances turn out to be an opportunity for the comparatively weaker side, especially considering the successful struggle of EOKA, which strengthened our diplomatic arsenal.
