Nicosia: The UN Secretary General's visit to Cyprus next week is a positive development, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, stressed on Sunday evening, adding that the visit demonstrates the heightened international interest in the Cyprus issue and expressed hope that there will be concrete results.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the President was replying to questions by journalists on his arrival to the Panorama of Missing Persons, in Kornos, Larnaka, where he addressed the commemorative event in honour and memory of the Missing Persons of the Pancyprian Organisation of the Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons and the Panhellenic Committee of Parents and Relatives of Undeclared Prisoners and Missing Persons of the Cyprus Tragedy.
"We consider the UN Secretary General's visit as positive. It shows what we have been saying for so long about his clear political will, about the international interest as a result of our actions," he underlined. The President also noted the EU's actions and its heightened interest on the Cyprus issue. 'We hope that the conditions will be created to achieve our goal, which is none other than the resumption of talks,' he stressed.
President Christodoulides also said that the Greek Cypriot side is preparing for the arrival of the UN Secretary General and recalled that he has convened the National Council, top advisory body to the President on the Cyprus issue, noting that "we are fully prepared to welcome him to Cyprus".
Asked whether the UN Secretary General has any proposal or has sent a draft, he replied that 'he has not sent a draft.' 'I want to be completely honest with the Cypriot people,' he said, noting that before the joint meeting he will have a private meeting with the UN Secretary General. 'It is a great effort, it concerns our national issue, it concerns our entire country, it concerns our entire people, and of course they will be informed,' he added.
Asked whether the non-presence of the Turkish President in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus for the so-called 'celebrations' of the Turkish invasion could be perceived as a gesture of goodwill, the President of the Republic replied that 'Mr. Erdogan will not come, someone else will come to replace Mr. Erdogan'. 'So let us not rush to reach such conclusions', he added.
Asked what message the UNSG's visit is sending, President Christodoulides said that 'it certainly shows the heightened interest'. He recalled that before the UN Secretary General's visit to Cyprus, his Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, will be in Brussels and will be in contact with Turkey and then come to Cyprus. 'It is within the framework of the preparation of the visit of the UN Secretary General, so that there are concrete results,' he noted.
He added that 'this is our goal, we are working towards this direction,' adding that 'I would like to reiterate that it is following our own actions that there are these developments and we want them to bear fruit.' The President explained that by the term 'bear fruit' he means 'resumption of talks on the basis of the agreed framework, EU principles, values and law, from where we left off in Crans Montana.'
Asked whether a trilateral meeting would take place, the President of the Republic replied that 'there will certainly be a joint meeting with the UN Secretary-General,' adding that this constitutes one of the key parts of the visit. The UNSG is expected to Cyprus 27-29 of July.
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 due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively. After informal meetings in 2025, followed by a hiatus of several months, deliberations are underway for a new meeting in broader format to be held, as the term of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres nears its end. Mara Angela Holgun, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.