Greece’s Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis will reiterate Athens’ firm support for efforts to resume the Cyprus talks, during his meeting with UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuellar, that is expected to be held next week in Athens, diplomatic sources told CNA on Thursday.
Sources of the Greek Foreign Ministry said that Holguín will visit Athens next week, most likely on Tuesday, February 6, and that she will have a meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.
The same sources noted that Gerapetritis will stress that any solution to the Cyprus problem should be based on UN resolutions for a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
The Greek side considers the appointment of the new Personal Envoy for Cyprus as a positive development and hopes for a productive discussion and consultation with her, they added.
This is also the position that Minister Gerapetritis is expected to express in his meeting with the UN Secretary-General next week in New York.
Earl
ier on Thursday, in statements upon his arrival at the European Council Summit in Brussels, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said he was informed that Holguín will also meet with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday.
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. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency