New york: Competent sources have expressed “limited optimism” regarding the outcome of the informal meeting on the Cyprus issue that is taking place in New York under the auspices of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Greek Cypriot side has shown readiness to discuss outstanding issues concerning Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) and to make more headway in the overall process.
According to Cyprus News Agency, President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides engaged in a telephone conversation with EU Special Envoy for Cyprus Johannes Hahn this morning in New York. He is also slated to meet with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis in the afternoon and UK Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty on Thursday morning, ahead of bilateral meetings. Sources indicate that the two sides are nearing an agreement on the demining issue.
Though there are concerns about the necessity of the conference in a broader format-given that greater progress on CBMs was anticipated following the previous informal meeting in Geneva-the significance of the UN Secretary-General’s insistence on holding this conference cannot be understated. Some parties are already attempting to preemptively assign or distribute responsibility for the lack of progress in CBMs equally.
Six CBMs have been discussed, with progress in three of them. Other CBMs are complicated by the process of selecting leadership in Cyprus’ Turkish-occupied territories and the Turkish side’s stance. President Christodoulides has made a clear proposal for reciprocity on crossing points, but the other side aims to advance its own claims. CBMs over which progress has stalled are those requiring Turkey’s input, particularly concerning Ankara, such as crossing points and mine clearance.
The Greek Cypriot side initially raised these CBMs at the Geneva meeting in March and has expressed its willingness to further discuss pending issues and achieve more progress. President Christodoulides briefed the National Council, the top advisory body on the Cyprus issue, about his engagements today and plans to do so again after a dinner hosted by the UN Secretary-General for participants at the UN headquarters.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led peace talks have repeatedly failed due to Turkish intransigence, with the last round in July 2017 at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, ending without resolution. The informal meeting in New York, chaired by UN Secretary-General Guterres, includes leaders from both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities and foreign ministers from Greece, Turkey, and the UK.
This New York meeting was agreed upon during the previous informal Geneva meeting in March, where leaders agreed on trust-building initiatives, including opening new crossing points and forming a technical committee on youth, demining, environmental and climate change initiatives, and solar energy production in the buffer zone. In May, Guterres appointed Maria Angela Holguin as his Personal Envoy for Cyprus to reengage parties for future steps.
President Christodoulides is joined in New York by top officials, including Attorney General George Savvides, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, and others, as they continue to work towards resolving the longstanding Cyprus issue.