Christodoulides says Varosha proposal remains on the table

Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides has claimed that the proposal to open the closed Varosha (Maraş) district "remains on the table". According to the Politis newspaper, Christodoulides received the so-called Varosha mayor Simos Yiannou and a municipal council delegation yesterday and said the proposal had not been withdrawn.

Christodoulides said the proposal was not an old one but was based on past talks. He noted that President Tufan Erhürman had rejected it, but said it had not been taken off the table. He repeated that he had made proposals on new crossing points and expressed hope for progress in his meeting with Erhürman today.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the so-called Varosha delegation welcomed the proposal. He said it envisaged the return of Varosha under UN Security Council resolutions 550 and 789 and the simultaneous operation of Famagusta port under EU supervision, and that, unlike earlier versions, it did not include the Ankara protocol. Christodoulides also met UN envoy Khassim Diagne yesterday. A trilateral meeting is planned for 9 November, and Christodoulides will meet Maria Angela Holguin on Friday.