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"Mr. Alvaro de Soto, handed to me at 5.00 pm, the proposals of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan for a solution of the Cyprus problem.

The negotiating process is in the most delicate and decisive phase. The handling to be made in the coming weeks will be a crucial and of decisive importance. In the future, a lot will depend on the way we shall handle developments. The political leaders and the National Council with calm, unity and a sense of responsibility will start tomorrow the study of the UN Secretary General’s plan. To this end, I have called a meeting of the National Council for 6pm tomorrow.

Since July 1974 we have been struggling with consistency to prove that the fate of Cyprus does not lie in division and partition. We have made great efforts to pursue a peaceful solution and an honorable compromise, which so far have had no response from the other side.

Our vision is a united Cyprus to become an equal member of the European Union, to provide security and prosperity to all its inhabitants, with the safeguarding of human rights and freedoms. We must close for ever the chapter of national conflicts and wars and we must usher in a new era of prosperity and progress.

Fellow countrymen,

We have to face these crucial developments with unity and unanimity, with prudence and a sense of responsibility. During these crucial moments there is no room for over-simplifications or maximalist approaches.

Having as our guide the interests of Cyprus and also our firm position that there are safety limits which the Greek Cypriot side has the moral and political right not to go beyond, we shall study the proposals given to us.

The framework set by the UN Security Council Resolutions lay down the principles on which a solution to the Cyprus problem should be based. These resolutions form the objective judgement and the collective wisdom not of the parties involved in the Cyprus problem, but of the world community at large. In this framework, a single sovereignty, a single international personality, and a single citizenship as well as respect for human rights should find their place in the solution we are seeking.

At this important juncture, I call upon all the political forces, and the entire Cyprus people to unite and cooperate. I look upon the National Council [of Cyprus] as a collaborator and an assistant in this difficult effort. Our effort to solve the Cyprus problem should acquire the greatest possible political and social consensus.

The plan submitted covers all the aspects of the Cyprus problem. It is evident that it contains provisions that satisfy our positions and also provisions that are not to our liking and do not satisfy us. However, we shall judge the plan as a whole. It is on this basis that we shall determine whether it serves the interests of the Cyprus people and whether it can really open up the way for breaking the deadlock and lead to the solution of the Cyprus problem. Being unable to see the ‘forest for the trees’ is not my way of reasoning.

I wish to underline in particular the important role and the firm and unwavering support Greece has been playing in the whole effort. The cooperation between Greece and Cyprus has been an important positive factor both in respect of developments in our efforts to solve the Cyprus problem and in respect of our EU Accession process. It is my intention to safeguard as the ‘apple of the eye’ this cooperation and unanimity between Greece and Cyprus, in its widest form, not only with the government but also with all the political parties in Greece.

I have been in continuous touch with Prime Minister Simitis and we have agreed to meet next Saturday to coordinate our actions.

I call upon the people of Cyprus who have the final say concerning the approval or rejection of any agreement that may be achieved, to remain cool, calm and firm. The guiding light of all our handling should be the interest of Cyprus and its people and nothing else."