Greek Cypriot criticism of mediator Espen Barth Eide
Cyprus president believes the UN mission Espen Barth Eide is biased and has unnecessary haste in the negotiations to unify the island.
Greek Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades said on Sunday that he believes Eide seems to have the same views as the Turkish Cypriot side.
Anastasiades says Eide must understand that “statements or threats” will have the opposite effect than unifying Cyprus into a federation.
“The less Eide speaks, the better it is” says Anastasiades, adding that the Norwegian seems to be in a hurry.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has, after a conversation with Espen Barth Eide, gone out and urged the Cypriot leaders to make every effort to reach a peace agreement, especially considering that “the process could run out of the time”.
Espen Barth Eide is in fifth place on Oslo Arbeiderparti’s list in the autumn’s parliamentary elections, and is thus expected to make comeback in Norwegian politics.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
