National Council Convened by President Christodoulides to Address Cyprus Issue

Nicosia: A meeting of the National Council has been underway since 10:40 a.m. under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides. The President is expected to provide a briefing on the latest developments concerning the Cyprus issue, following last week's visits to Cyprus by UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres and the EU's Special Representative for the Cyprus issue, Raffaele Fitto.

According to Cyprus News Agency, the meeting sees the participation of notable figures including former President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, President of DISY Annita Demetriou, AKEL Secretary-General Stefanos Stefanou, ELAM President Christos Christou, DIKO President Nicolas Papadopoulos, President of ALMA - Citizens for Cyprus Odysseas Michaelides, and President of the Direct Democracy, Fidias Panayiotou. Also in attendance are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, Deputy Minister to the President, Irene Piki, the Deputy Government Spokesperson, Yiannis Antoniou, the Greek Cypriot side's negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou, the Deputy Director of the President's Diplomatic Office, Nektarios Sotiriou, and the Director of the President's Press Office, Victoras Papadopoulos.

Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, following Turkey's invasion and subsequent occupation of its northern third. Numerous attempts at UN-led peace talks have so far been unsuccessful, primarily due to Turkish intransigence. The most recent negotiations, held in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended without a resolution.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, nearing the end of his term, announced plans to convene another meeting in a broader format, contingent upon adequate preparation. He has secured consensus from both sides and the guarantor powers for this initiative. Mar­a Angela Holgu­n, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, has been tasked with engaging the parties, while Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto serves as the European Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding the EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.