Alexander Downer spoke to Turkish Cypriot newspaper Havadis last week, an interview that appeared in the Sunday, 17 January, edition of the paper. Below are some quotes from the interview:
“[F]rom our perspective in the United Nations, we are happy with the process. I think the two leaders have been wise to move into intensive talks”.
“[I]n terms of the progress that has been made, you know we are going to be very careful in what we say about that because the leaders will certainly want to say more about the progress that has been made at end of the second round of intensive talks… But I think I am just going to say that we are happy with the way it’s been working”.
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“[T]hese UN negotiations require that both sides adhere to a bizonal, bicommunal federation. And it is to be a federation, an arrangement whereby you have a federal government for the whole of Cyprus and two constituent state governments and two constituent states. So it’s not about divorce. The United Nations is not here to preside over the partition of Cyprus”.
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“I would like to feel this year Cyprus will be able to, the leaders would be able to, agree on the bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. There will be a period of implementation. That the day will come when you have your federal government here; there is a President of Cyprus who is sometimes a Turkish Cypriot, sometimes a Greek Cypriot. And you have your State governments. And you suddenly realize that so much of the bitterness and the arguments of the past just mean nothing…You are able to live together in Europe, in the European Union, just like the Finns and the Irish, the Portuguese and Slovaks, they all live together; the British and Italians, or, more to the point, the British and the Germans could all live together happily, surely Turkish and Greek Cypriots can all live together happily”.
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