Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots feel Cypriots above all, an opinion survey shows

An opinion survey has found that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots feel Cypriots above all and they are positive to establishing a Cypriot identity as an element that would bring the inhabitants of the divided island of Cyprus together, Chairman of the University of Nicosia Board Nicos Peristianis told a press conference on Wednesday.

Peristianis presented the results of the survey conducted by IMR/University of Nicosia on behalf of the New Cyprus Association, according to which the fulfillment of this desire is not easy due to the lack of a collective identity and substantive communication between the two sides as well as because Cypriots find it difficult to imagine ways of building a “joint roof” and a common future.

Invited to determine their identity, Greek Cypriots responded: 48% Cypriot, 43% more Cypriot than Greek/equally Cypriot and Greek, 9% Greek/more Greek than Cypriot. Responds from the Turkish Cypriot side were: 88% Cypriot, 6% equally Cypriot and Turk, 6% Turk/Turkish Cypriot.

Asked how useful it would be to have a common Cypriot identity, Greek Cypriots replied: 67% very useful/quite useful and Turkish Cypriots 80% very useful/quite useful.

Moreover, 27% of the Greek Cypriots said that it would be better for a Cypriot identity to be established prior to a solution to the Cyprus problem, 26% both prior and after a solution and 24% after a solution, while 23% responded negatively. Turkish Cypriots replied 76% before a solution, 16% both before and after a solution and 8% after a solution

With regard to the type of the solution 44% of the Greek Cypriots and 15% of the Turkish Cypriots  were in favour of a united state, 24% of the Greek Cypriots and 30% of the Turkish Cypriots in favour of a federation, 14% of Greek Cypriots and 29% of Turkish Cypriots in favour of two separate states, 8% of the Greek Cypriots and 19% of the Turkish Cypriots in favour of the current situation and 4% of the Greek Cypriots and 5% of the Turkish Cypriots in favour of a confederation.

The survey involved 500 telephone conversations and was conducted using a structured questionnaire for each of the two communities during the period of November to December 2014.

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