Kasoulides lays into ‘defeatist’ policy on Cyprus problem

THE administration was yesterday caught in the middle of crossfire, on the one hand fending off salvos from presidential hopeful Ioannis Kasoulides while on the other answering jibes from their main coalition partners AKEL.

Kasoulides, an MEP and former Foreign Minister, turned up the heat after announcing last week he would be standing for the top job.Yesterday he took on the administration head-on, accusing it of a “defeatist” policy on Cyprus and of a lack of initiative.

“To say that Turkey holds the key [to Cyprus] is merely an excuse for inaction and inertia,” said the MEP.“We must bring the key back to Nicosia. Turkish intransigence is not without its weak points. I aim to adopt an aggressive diplomacy, take the initiative and back Turkey into a corner.”

And the government’s “tough guy” attitude abroad had isolated Cyprus, he added.“Look at [our] treatment of [former British Foreign Secretary] Jack Straw. In world diplomacy, never have I seen anything like it, except maybe with Iran’s Ahmadinejad or Venezuela’s Chavez.

At least those two countries have oil. What do we have to behave the way we do?”Responding to Kasoulides, Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas accused the MEP of “bulldozer tactics.”He insisted the government had a clear-cut policy on Cyprus, and challenged Kasoulides to explain his own vision.“Is he [Kasoulides] a concessionist, a hard-liner… what?” mused Palmas.

“For someone who served as Foreign Minister for years, if he still thinks that he and Mr Talat can together find a comprehensive settlement, if he does not realise that Turkey holds the key…then I rest my case.”

But during yesterday’s press briefing, Palmas was also taken to task over a comment made by Nikos Katsourides of AKEL.In an interview with Simerini over the weekend, Katsourides said that it was not enough for the next President to belong to the “no” camp – he should also be someone who can pave the way for a solution.

The remark was understood as a response to the other coalition parties’ criticism of a possible Christofias nomination.AKEL has taken flak from ruling DIKO and socialists EDEK for considering Christofias as a rival candidate, wondering why the communists would want to go their own way if they were pleased with the Papadopoulos administration.

Weighing in, EDEK honorary chairman Vassos Lyssarides said he was confident Papadopoulos would make it to the second round and that his party would back him all the way.“For us, there are no dilemmas. It is others who will be faced with choices,” added the veteran politician, alluding to AKEL.

Neither Papadopoulos nor Christofias have officially announced their candidacies. It is said the government camp is waiting, holding out hope that AKEL will abort the Christofias nomination and renew their oath to the three-way coalition under Papadopoulos.

Meanwhile, a new poll commissioned by daily Politis found that Papadopoulos should garner 31.2 per cent of the popular vote in the first round, followed by Kasoulides at 26.2 per cent. Christofias came in third at 23.1 per cent.According to the survey, around 20 per cent of the electorate are undecided