The current state of affairs cannot be the future of the country, nor the solution of the Cyprus problem, said on Tuesday, President-elect, Nikos Christodoulides, stressing that he will do everything possible to break the impasse without overlooking any difficulties faced.
Replying to a journalist’s question on the sidelines of his visit to the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB) if there is optimism for his next contacts regarding the Cyprus issue, after his meeting earlier in the day with Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, Christodoulides said that, it was a first meeting, preparatory, of the meeting that he will hold on Thursday with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
Christodoulides, who was Cyprus’ Foreign Minister between 2018 and 2022, noted that he knows very well the facts as regards the Cyprus issue. “I know very well the difficulties, the problems, the different approaches. This does not mean, in any case, that we will not do what is possible to create those conditions for the dialogue to resume”, he added.
“For us, the current state of affairs cannot be the future of our country, it cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem,” Christodoulides said, adding that there is a specific plan, the implementation of which, started before his election, “and we will continue”.
He noted that there is “an important first European Council” in the third week of March where there will be several meetings, while until then preparatory work will continue, including in coordination with Athens, during his first visit as President there, after he officially resumes his duties on March 1.
Asked whether there would be a meeting with the UN Secretary General, he said there was nothing concrete yet and that he had discussed it in his meeting with Stewart, noting that there would be an answer soon.
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