The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last night, thanking him for taking the initiative and continuing the effort on the Cyprus issue, while expressing readiness for the resumption of the negotiations from the point where they have been suspended, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said after the National Council meeting on Tuesday.
According to the Spokesman, President Christodoulides also stressed “the need for the expanded conference to be convened as soon as possible, after the required preparations will be made”, noting that “we are at the disposal of the Secretary General in the context of this initiative to resume negotiations, to support his efforts”. He also pointed out that “our aim is for this joint meeting that will take place in an extended format to be convened before the end of the year”.
In his remarks after the National Council wrapped up its meeting, Letymbiotis noted that this was the third meeting of the
body within a period of about one month and that the exchange of views was very concrete and very constructive.
The President of the Republic informed the members of the Council about the results of the meeting in New York and underlined with satisfaction, “as did the entire political leadership”, the personal commitment of the UN Secretary General himself to the efforts to resume negotiations, always within the agreed framework, he noted.
The meeting in New York made the continuation of the effort to resume negotiations possible through the convening of an meeting that will take place in an extended format, in the presence of the three guarantor powers, while a meeting of the President with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, to explore the prospects of opening new crossing points will also take place, he added.
Letymbiotis said that President Christodoulides is backed by the entire political leadership for as regards the handling of the situation, in terms of taking initiatives, but also in terms of
intensifying efforts to resume negotiations.
Asked if there is a specific recommendation by the President in relation to the meeting that will take place in an extended format, the Spokesperson said that they have made suggestions to make this meeting as productive as possible. “We expect the UN Secretary General, and the person that the UN Secretary General will select as the facilitator of this meeting that will take place in an extended format, to have in the coming period ongoing contacts as regards the meeting itself. We will not expand further on this point until there is contact by the UN side,” he said.
Asked about the President’s meeting with Ersin Tatar, he said that “the President’s letter to the UN Secretary General also refers to the need to convene this meeting with Mr. Tatar as soon as possible. You understand that practically it is much more feasible to hold this meeting in the immediate future and this is the goal we are seeking to achieve, so that the meeting with Mr. Tatar should take pla
ce soon,” he noted.
Asked when this meeting could take place, Letymbiotis said that “this also depends on Mr. Tatar’s schedule. On our side we are ready to hold this meeting. Besides, we have submitted very specific proposals in the past on the issue of opening new crossing points,” he said, adding that they are ready for the meeting to take place “in the immediate future.”
Asked whether the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacekeeping Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, will visit Cyprus, Letymbiotis said that this depends on the UN Secretary General’s own decisions on who will be the person from the UN who will assume the role of the coordinator of this effort. “We cannot anticipate the decisions of the UN Secretary General. We are also waiting for the next steps by the UN side,” he noted.
Responding to a question, he also said that the President’s letter aims to promote the preparation of both meetings.
Asked which crossing points the Greek Cypriot side prefers to be opened, the Spokesperson said t
hat the request of the Turkish Cypriot side for opening the Mia Milia crossing is known and the simultaneous opening of either the Pyroi-Athienou crossing or the Kokkina crossing has been raised by the Greek Cypriot side. “This is something that will be discussed at the meeting of the President of the Republic with Mr. Tatar,” he noted.
It is “either the one or the other. It is the Mia Milia crossing and simultaneously the opening either of the Pyroi-Athienou or the Kokkina crossing,” he noted.
Replying to another question, Letymbiotis said that the will and desire was expressed to hold the five-party meeting as soon as possible and after proper preparation.
“This is our desire, this has been expressed, as well as our desire for this meeting to make a catalytic, decisive contribution to the objective pursued, which is none other than the resumption of the negotiations from the point where they have been suspended. As regards the framework of what will be discussed at this meeting that will take place in an
extended format, you understand that with the present composition, i.e. in the presence of the three guarantor powers, all aspects of the Cyprus problem can and will be discussed’, he said.
In response to a journalist’s remark that we are therefore talking definitively about a five-party meeting, he said that it is five plus one, “in the presence of the three guarantor powers, the President of the Republic, Mr Tatar and the UN Secretary General”. This was also agreed, he added, at the joint meeting in New York, recalling that the President of the Republic had stated this after the meeting.
Asked what the President of the Republic meant by the reference to a good preparation in his letter to the UN Secretary General, Letymbiotis said that contacts should be made by the UN with all parties participating in the meeting, so that issues related to all aspects of the Cyprus problem could be discussed at it and so that it would be possible as a result to have the resumption of the negotiations”.
Asked whether the
Greek Cypriot side sees security and guarantees as two separate issues, Letymbiotis replied that security and guarantees are de facto separated, but are at the same time interconnected. What is important, he added, is that under this composition all aspects of the Cyprus problem can be discussed.
“Also, what we have to underline is that the Secretary General himself remains personally committed to this effort and he himself believes that it is possible to achieve the resumption of the negotiations from the point where they have been suspended,” he added.
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency