President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has called a meeting of the National Council for Wednesday, 30 September, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis has announced.
In a post on X, Letymbiotis said that President Christodoulides would brief the political leadership on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue and his contacts in New York, followed by an exchange of views on the next steps in efforts to resume substantive negotiations.
UNSG is committed to exhausting every effort on the Cyprus issue, Menelaou says
Greek Cypriot negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou, highlighted in statements to CNA following contacts of the Cypriot delegation in New York, under President Nikos Christodoulides, the UN Secretary-General's commitment and determination to exhaust every effort on the Cyprus issue until the last day of his term in office.
He noted that the goal remains to convene an expanded meeting that will decide for the resumption of the Cyprus talks.
Menelao also spoke of "a pattern (by the Turkish side) of obstructing the effort to give a more accelerated pace to the steps that need to be taken", referring to the failure to hold a trilateral meeting in New York between the UNSG, President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
Meanwhile, according to government sources that spoke to CNA, President Christodoulides, intends to convene a meeting of the National Council, his top advisory body for the handling of the Cyprus issue, on Wednesday, during he will brief the members of the Council and discuss the latest developments.
Menelaou said that the preparatory work continues and that “significant steps have been made”, noting that there is still room for further progress. However, he pointed out that one of the obstacles is “the delaying tactics” of the Turkish Cypriot side.
The Greek Cypriot negotiator said that the goal is for the process to proceed “as soon as possible,” noting that “it should have already proceeded a long time ago.”
“We believe that the conditions are there. The determination of the UN Secretary-General is also there. The preparatory work that needs to be carried out has progressed to a very significant extent,” he underlined.
Menelaou told CNA that it is crucial that the next step can be taken, in order to put a revitalized negotiation process on track, fully maintaining what was achieved at the talks up to the last day of the previous effort, which was completed in the summer of 2017 in Crans Montana.
Referring to the UN Secretary-General’s approach as regards the Cyprus issue, Menelaou said that it is a comprehensive approach, encompassing all aspects, as reflected in the six points he had shared in the summer of 2017 in Crans Montana.
The six points, Menelaou said, are integral parts, so as a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue can be reached, which must encompass all aspects, all chapters of the Cyprus problem.
Invited to comment on the fact that a trilateral meeting did not take place in New York, Menelaou noted that the Greek Cypriot side and the United Nations made efforts until the last minute to make this possible.
The Greek Cypriot side, he stressed, had declared its readiness to extend its stay in New York, however, “this effort fell into " this general pattern that we are facing from the Turkish side.”
This is a pattern, he said, "of obstructing the effort to give a more accelerated pace to the steps that need to be taken.”
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.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term is nearing its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. María Angela Holguín, 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.
(Source: CNA)
