A social dinner between Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, is scheduled to take place in late January, while Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou and special representative of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ergun Olgun, are expected to hold next week their last meeting before the end of the year, CNA has learned.
Menelaou and Olgun attended a meeting and a dinner with the UNSG’ Special Representative, Colin Stewart last Wednesday, to discuss, as the UN announced “ongoing matters, to recognize their collaboration in 2022 and continue this important work in 2023.”
According to CNA information, Stewart will be leaving the island on Thursday for the Christmas holidays and will fly in January to New York for the discussions that will take place at the UN seat on the UNSG’s reports about his good offices mission and the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
CNA has learned that no separate meetings of Stewart with Anastasiades and Tatar have been scheduled before the UN diplomat leaves the island. The three men had met on December 7 in the framework of an end of the year reception which the UN in Cyprus hosted at Ledra Palace, during which Anastasiades and Tatar agreed to have a social dinner before the former’s term of office wraps up at the end of February 2023. The dinner is scheduled to take place in late January; however, this remains to be confirmed.
Meanwhile the UNSG’s reports will be handed over to the UN Security Council members during the first week of January. Stewart will brief during the second week of January the UNFICYP troop -contributing countries and after that the UN Security Council members. The resolution for the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate for six more months will be adopted by January 31st.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency