New York: Negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side on the Cyprus issue, Menelaos Menelaou, who was in New York for contacts last week, told CNA on Tuesday that the main message from his meetings was ‘a message of support’ to the ongoing effort to revitalize the political process on the Cyprus issue within the framework set by the relevant UN resolutions.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Menelaou is expected to meet on Thursday with Gnes Onar, the Special Representative of the Turkish Cypriot leader, as part of their regular meetings. The main subject will be the upcoming meeting of the two leaders on Monday concerning the crossing points.
Asked by CNA about his meetings at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Menelaou said that he met with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, Miroslav Jenca, and the Chef de Cabinet to the UN Secretary General, Earle Courtenay Rattray. He also had discussions with permanent and non-permanent Security Council members.
He noted that the main message from all the meetings was ‘a message of support’ to the ongoing effort to revitalize the political process on the Cyprus issue within the framework set by the relevant UN resolutions. This is in view of the expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue, which is expected to be held in the near future, and the discussion at the UN Security Council on the renewal of the resolution on the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) at the end of this month.
Menelaou emphasized that the primary message from the meetings is the necessity for continuous efforts within the framework set by the resolutions to achieve the goal as soon as possible. He also confirmed an upcoming visit by DiCarlo to Nicosia and to the capitals of the parties involved in preparation for the expanded conference on the Cyprus issue.
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.
On October 15, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted an informal dinner with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York. He encouraged the leaders to consider ways to bridge the gap in their positions and rebuild trust to allow progress toward a settlement. President Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to have an informal meeting in a broader format in the near future, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to discuss the way forward. They also agreed to meet in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings. This meeting is scheduled to take place on January 20 at the Chief of Mission’s Residence in the Nicosia buffer zone.