President Nikos Christodoulides has said that many things would “become clearer,” particularly regarding how to move forward on the Cyprus issue, in relation to his upcoming meeting with the new Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman. He noted that the United Nations would announce details about the meeting on Monday, 17 November.
Speaking to reporters after a memorial service in Nicosia on 16 November, and asked to comment on the Turkish Cypriot leader’s statements on the Cyprus issue during his visit to Turkey, the President said he had listened “very carefully” to what was said, but stressed that such a matter cannot be exhausted or defined by public statements.
“I have listened very carefully to the new Turkish Cypriot leader’s remarks, as well as the statements made by the Turkish President during their recent meeting in Turkey. You understand that the Cyprus issue is a national matter, a very serious issue, the most important for our country, and certainly our major effort to end the occupation and achieve reunification cannot be exhausted or defined by public statements,” he said.
He noted that on Monday, the United Nations would announce information regarding his first meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader. “A first meeting which I consider particularly important, because within the framework of the discussion that will take place, I believe that many things will become clearer, especially regarding how we proceed, with a single goal: the resumption of negotiations from where they were interrupted in the summer of 2017, aiming at a solution to the Cyprus issue on the basis of the agreed framework,” he added.
“So, allow me - out of respect for the seriousness and responsibility with which we approach this major national matter - not to publicly comment on what has been said,” he said, noting that though he could comment on many statements, he was focusing on the substance. “I am focusing on the meeting that will take place, where, I believe, many things will become clearer,” he said.
Asked to comment on Erhürman’s reference to preconditions for returning to the negotiating table, President Christodoulides said, “I have answers for all issues. But I repeat, as a sign of the seriousness with which we approach the matter, I will not engage in public negotiations.” If the Turkish Cypriot leader and Turkey genuinely wish for a solution to the Cyprus problem based on the agreed framework, “then progress will be made,” he said. “If they wish otherwise or have other objectives, developments will certainly not be positive”, he noted. The Cyprus issue, he added, “will certainly not be resolved through public negotiations.”
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.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.
(Source: CNA)
