NEWS 18/01/2012 PHILELEUTHEROS Anastasiades: I will run for the Presidency of the Republic The chairman of the Democratic

Rally, Nikos Anastasiadis said on Tuesday for the first time that he intends to run for President of the Republic of Cyprus in the 2013 elections, as it was broadcasted on CyBC's "Noon Day". Mr Anastasiades, added that this would depend upon the collective bodies of the party. This is the first time the president of DISY makes his intention to pursue the Presidency of the Republic in the elections of 2013 clear, although in interviews he has given recently in the printed press, he had already left a clear impression of his intensions. Yesterday, the last day for nominations for the leadership of the Democratic Rally, no one else but Mr Anastasiadis had run for the presidency of the party. Consequently, Nikos Anastasiades received the approval to be the candidate of the Democratic Rally for President of the Republic. Obviously for reasons of political ethics, he said that "everything will depend upon the collective bodies of the party." But now it is very difficult if not impossible, with the interest from Mr Anastasiades, for another member of the Democratic Rally to claim the Presidency of the Republic in the elections of 2013.

Statements of the political parties after the National Council The political parties give different interpretations after the meeting of the National Council. The members of the government think that they all must support President Christofia. On the other hand, the opposition clarifies that the support is not a blank check and refers to the fact that a framework of what the President not do in the meeting was established. However all political parties believe that there will not be progress in Greentree. AKEL considers that maybe there will not be a substantial progress at the upcoming meeting in the U.S. Mr. Kyprianou said that it is important that they agree on some principles which should guide the effort made by President Christofias in New York. The Democratic Party, through its spokesman Fotis Fotiou, stated that it will support the President in this critical meeting, but will not become an accomplice to a new Burgenstock, nor give carte blanche to the administration of Cyprus. The Secretary of the Central Committee of EDEK, Mr. Dimitris Papadakis, said the

meeting of Greentree involves many risks adding that "unfortunately the current situation in the direct negotiations is the long process of a given deadlock. "The diversification of the European Party from the joint statement issued by the National Council was a matter of substance and tactics," said a statement by the Deputy chairman of the European Party, Rikkos Erotokritou. The Greek Cypriot side must avoid an international conference, which is a tool for an indirect but clear mediation concerning the solution of the Cyprus problem, said the President of the Movement of Ecologists and Environmentalists George Perdikis.