President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, who held a meeting Wednesday in Paris with President of France Emmanuel Macron, presented his proposal for a more active and substantial involvement of the EU in the effort to resume the Cyprus talks, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a written statement, adding that the two Presidents will stay in contact on the matter. Referring to the working visit of the President of the Republic to France, the Spokesman noted that the coordination of actions and the support of France in this great diplomatic effort is a common understanding of the two Presidents and thus they will continue to be in communication. The President of the Republic, he said, held a working lunch with the President of France, during which they discussed ways to further strengthen their excellent bilateral relations, focusing on the fields of Education, Defence, Economic relations, and Energy. He also presented in detail to President Macron his proposal for a more active and substantial involvement of the EU in the effort to end the impasse, resume the negotiations from where they were left and solve the Cyprus issue. President Christodoulides explained the aspects of his proposal and how the further involvement of the EU can act as a catalyst and reinforce the efforts of the UN. The EU has those incentives and tools that can lead to the achievement of a win – win situation for all parties involved, the President of Cyprus said, adding that the role of France, as a strong supporter of Cyprus, becomes more important, especially due to the fact that France is the only EU Member State that is also a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. The prospect of reaching in solution of the Cyprus problem, especially during this time, taken into consideration the international developments, has an additional geopolitical dimension for the EU, but also for the regional role that Cyprus can play, President Christodoulides said. “The coordination of actions and the support of France in this great diplomatic effort is a common understanding of the two Presidents and in this direction, they will continue to be in communication,” the Spokesman says. In addition, the President of the Republic presented to President Macron the situation regarding Migration in Cyprus, stressing the need for the EU Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean to be completed, adopted and implemented as soon as possible. Furthermore, they discussed regional issues in the wider region, such as Lebanon, Libya and Syria and how these can affect the region, as well as the need for EU initiatives since it has an important role to play. In addition, they discussed France’s participation in tripartite cooperation mechanisms. Ukraine and European issues were also on the agenda. The President of the Republic congratulated President Macron on his initiative for the European Political Community and informed him that he will attend the 2nd Summit to be held in June in Moldova. The two Presidents held a tete a tete discussion after the working lunch, the press release says. 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