Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus issue constitutes a priority for Greek foreign policy.
In an interview with the Greek newspaper “Ta Nea”, published Sunday, Dendias noted that Athens expects to welcome the new President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, in his first visit abroad after his election.
Referring to his close cooperation with Christodoulides during his time as Foreign Minister, Dendias expressed hope that after the completion of the electoral processes in both Greece and Turkey, there will be “a clearer starting point” on the Cyprus issue.
“I look forward with great pleasure to welcoming Christodoulides in Athens, in order to resume the discussions on issues of common interest. First among them is, of course, the issue of the resumption of negotiations for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions. This means breaking the deadlock that emerged over the last year and a half”, Dendias said.
“I hope that when the electoral processes in Greece and Turkey have been completed, we will have a clearer starting point”, he said.
Asked about the possibility of a quadrilateral meeting of the 3+1 scheme (Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the US), Dendias said that such a scenario is “a bit premature.”
“It is a bit premature to talk about future meetings of different cooperation schemes. The government in Israel is new and the President of the Republic of Cyprus has just been elected. Greece has also practically entered an election cycle, so we will have to wait a bit,” he said.
He stressed, however, that “energy projects offer an important area of cooperation in the wider region and especially during the current juncture of the energy crisis.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency