Nicosia: Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis expressed on Monday hope that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' visit to Cyprus on Tuesday could serve as a springboard for convening an expanded conference on the Cyprus issue. Speaking after President Nikos Christodoulides' meeting with the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, Letymbiotis said the Government expects Guterres to outline his thinking on the next steps of his initiative.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the aim is for an expanded conference to lead to the resumption of negotiations from the point where they were interrupted at Crans-Montana, while reiterating that Nicosia remains committed to the agreed settlement framework based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Regarding the Christodoulides-Holguin meeting, Letymbiotis said it was held ahead of Guterres' visit, during which the UN chief will hold separate meetings with President Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, attend a joint dinner with the two leaders and later hold a joint meeting with them.
Asked whether Holguin's remarks following her meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan leave room for optimism, Letymbiotis said Nicosia views positively the fact that Guterres has personally led this new initiative since March, investing both his time and the institutional weight of his office. At the same time, however, he said the Government remains aware of the challenges posed by Turkey's position.
Asked whether there are any indications of common ground between the sides, Letymbiotis said the only common basis is that established by the UN Security Council resolutions. He added that the UN Secretary-General's personal engagement, together with developments in EU-Turkey relations, creates conditions that the Greek Cypriot side intends to make use of.
Commenting on reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reiterated Ankara's position in favour of a two-state solution during his meeting with Holguin, Letymbiotis declined to comment on the substance of their discussions, saying he could not speak on behalf of the UN envoy. He stressed, however, that the United Nations is discussing only the solution set out in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Responding to a question about reports that the UN Secretary-General may seek to update the Crans-Montana framework, Letymbiotis reiterated Nicosia's long-standing position. He noted that the key issue is whether Turkey, which since 2021 has openly advocated a two-state solution, is prepared to realign itself with the UN Security Council resolutions.
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.