Nicosia: President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, will preside over a meeting of the National Council on Monday. This top advisory body to the President on the Cyprus issue will be briefed on the latest developments following recent visits by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and EU Special Representative for Cyprus, Raffaele Fitto.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:30. President Christodoulides mentioned on Saturday that preparatory work has commenced with the United Nations at a technocratic level to create conditions for a successful expanded conference on the Cyprus issue. This preparatory work is set to continue throughout August.
Last week marked the first visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Cyprus, during which he engaged in various contacts on the island. In the same week, Raffaele Fitto, the newly appointed EU Special Representative for Cyprus, held a series of meetings in Nicosia.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974 following Turkey's invasion and occupation of its northern third. Despite numerous rounds of UN-led peace talks, no resolution has been reached due to Turkish intransigence. The most recent negotiations, held in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended without a conclusive result.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term is nearing its end, announced plans to convene another meeting in a broader format after sufficient preparation, though he did not provide a timeline. He secured consensus from both sides and the guarantor powers for this approach. Mara Angela Holgun, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, has been tasked with engaging the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto serves as the European Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding the former EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.