Cyprus, 2012

Allow me to congratulate

you, Sir, on your election as President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to express my

delegation’s support to you in discharging your duties

I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to

your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz

Al-Nasser, for the excellent way in which he conducted

the work of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth

session. I would also like to take this opportunity to

thank the Secretary-General for his report on the work

of the Organization (A/67/1).

Owing to its geographical location and historical

ties with its neighbouring countries, Cyprus has been

closely following and has taken particular interest in

the developments in the wider Middle East and North

Africa over the past 18 months. The sovereignty of

peoples was and remains a fundamental principle of

the Organization and the functioning of States. As the

international community, we should, in our opinion,

address events there through that prism, respecting the

right of each people to determine its own future.

During that period, we witnessed transformations

in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya. We stand by those

peoples through that transition and encourage their

efforts on the difficult road to consolidating democracy

and the rule of law. We look forward to new structures that are inclusive of women and minorities and that

create the conditions for the further participation of

citizens in political life.

It is with great sadness, however, that we are

witnessing the loss of human lives in the region.

Increased violence in Syria continues, and the potential

spillover effects to neighbouring countries are a great

cause for concern. We strongly condemn the violence

and the massacres of innocent civilians in Syria and

call for their immediate cessation. There is undoubtedly

a humanitarian crisis there that needs urgent attention.

Recent consultations in the Security Council have

emphasized that. The Republic of Cyprus stands ready

to contribute to international efforts to manage the

crisis, in particular as the fire is raging just outside

our door.

We remain committed to respecting the sovereignty

and territorial integrity of Syria and emphasize that

the continued violence and its recent intensification

underscore the need for a political solution. In that

respect, I join the rest of the international community

in expressing our unequivocal support for the newly

appointed Joint Special Representative for Syria,

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, with the sincere hope that he

will help bring the conflict to an end.

Against that background of significant changes in

the region, the Middle East peace process continues to

be at an impasse. It is imperative to resume negotiations

that can eventually lead to the implementation of

the relevant Security Council resolutions and the

establishment of a free and independent Palestinian

State on the basis of the pre-1967 borders. At the same

time, the solution must address Israel’s legitimate

security concerns.

No viable solutions can be achieved in the absence

of political dialogue. As you, Mr. President, wisely

proposed upon your election, the “Bringing about

adjustment or settlement of international disputes

or situations by peaceful means” is the overarching

purpose of the United Nations. It nevertheless also

remains a timeless challenge. I can personally attest to

that.

Cyprus still faces the consequences of foreign

intervention, namely, the Turkish invasion and

occupation. More than one third of my country’s

territory is still under the military occupation of Turkey,

a fellow Member State of the Organization.

Our participation at the United Nations requires

engagement in the struggle for the protection of

human rights. We share a commitment to the rule of

law and are proponents of peace and security in the

world. Yesterday, we supported the Declaration of the

High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law at the National

and International Levels (resolution 67/1), affirming

the sovereign equality of States and respect for their

territorial integrity.

Yet Turkey, after invading Cyprus in 1974, has

continued to occupy the northern part of the island for

the past 38 years, maintaining a strong military force

and continuing the mass transfer of settlers from Turkey,

pursuant to its policy for the demographic alteration of

my country’s population. Turkey continues to violate

the human rights and fundamental freedoms of tens

of thousands of displaced persons, including usurping

their property and violating the rights of the besieged

and those who have lost their loved ones and continue

to search for them.

Since the assumption of my duties as President of

the Republic of Cyprus in 2008, I took the initiative,

in collaboration with the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban

Ki-moon, to end the stalemate and to start a new process

of direct negotiations with the then leader of the Turkish

Cypriot community, Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, on the basis

of a bicommunal and bizonal federation with a singly

sovereignty, citizenship and international personality.

We came to an agreement on those conditions with

Mr. Talat. The process began under the auspices of the

Secretary-General and is being facilitated by his good

offices mission on the island.

I believe that the Turkish Cypriot side, under

Mr. Talat, shared the vision of a solution, for the

benefit of all Cypriots, to terminate the occupation and

establish the conditions for lasting peace and security

on the island. Despite the difficulties posed by the

occupation, at the time we achieved convergence in a

number of important areas.

Since 2010, however, despite committing itself in

the presence of the Secretary-General to continuing the

talks from where they had left off, the current Turkish

Cypriot leadership, under Mr. Eroğlu, has broken that

joint commitment and has retracted from the agreement

worked out with the previous Turkish Cypriot leader.

In addition, since last March, the Turkish Cypriot

leadership, with Turkey’s support, has abandoned

the negotiations in response to the assumption of the presidency of the Council of the European Union by the

Republic of Cyprus.

For our part, we remain committed to Security

Council resolution 2026 (2011), which provides that

an accord on the internal aspects of the Cyprus issue

must be achieved before convening an international

conference on the international aspects of the matter

with the consent of the two communities.

We remain unchanged in our commitment to

returning to the negotiating table; to continuing the

negotiations in good faith; and to respecting in practice,

not just in words, the agreed basis for the solution of

a bicommunal and bizonal federation with a single

sovereignty, citizenship and international personality

and political equality, as defined in the relevant Security

Council resolutions.

We are grateful to the Secretary-General, who

has willingly devoted his time and effort and invested

in that process, despite the many challenges that this

international Organization faces.

I call on the Turkish Cypriot leadership to return

to the table and to share our vision for a united and

peaceful Cyprus. A solution to the Cyprus problem

requires the support of all concerned parties. Turkey’s

positive contribution and practical support for efforts

on the part of the two communities to take the process

forward is crucial. Yet Turkey has instead been

pursuing “gunboat diplomacy”, with frequent displays

of military strength around Cyprus.

Turkey’s alarming behaviour has been escalating

since September 2011, when Cyprus undertook

exploration activities in its exclusive economic

zone, based on its rights under international law and

particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the

Law of the Sea.

Turkey has neither signed the aforementioned

Convention nor abided by relevant customary

international law. On the contrary, Turkey has carried

out unilateral actions with respect to sea areas that are

situated patently beyond any reasonable geographical

or legal limit of its continental shelf and potential

exclusive economic zone and that clearly fall within the

exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the

Republic of Cyprus.

Turkey is behaving as if the Republic of Cyprus

did not exist on the map of the region. Such behavior,

by a country seeking to become a member State of the European Union and supposedly seeking to maintain

zero problems with its neighbours, cannot and should

not be tolerated by the international community. I call

on Turkey, before this Assembly, to cease its provocative

behaviour. I repeat at the same time that in a reunified

Cyprus the natural resources, including hydrocarbons,

will be the common wealth of all Cypriots — both

Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike.

The deadline set by the international community

for the achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals in 2015 is nearing. We have seen much progress

thus far but much more remains to be done, as poverty

and hunger persist. In looking beyond 2015, we need

to recommit ourselves to a solid new agenda aimed

at poverty eradication, inclusive economic and social

development, environmental sustainability and peace

and security for all.