President to meet with UN Undersecretary to discuss resumption of peace process

President Nikos Christodoulides will meet in Nicosia with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, on 15 March, according to Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.

Letymbiotis told the Cyprus News Agency on Tuesday that the meeting will take place in the framework of efforts for the immediate resumption of negotiations for a Cyprus settlement, adding that President Christodoulides will convey to DiCarlo and through her to the UN Secretary General, to whom DiCarlo reports directly, the will of the Greek Cypriot side to break the deadlock.

Moreover, he said Christodoulides will brief DiCarlo about the diplomatic effort he will make in the immediate future to promote a more active involvement of the EU in efforts for a Cyprus settlement, always under the UN auspices, adding that the aim is to prepare the ground for the resumption of the talks the soonest possible.

Meanwhile, the same topic will be on the agenda when President Christodoulides meets with the UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, on Thursday.

Asked about the document which Nicosia has prepared aiming at a more active involvement of the EU in efforts for a Cyprus settlement, Letymbiotis noted that this is a working document, the content of which President Christodoulides will discuss with the Presidents of the EU institutions and with some of his EU counterparts, in the framework of his visit to Brussels to participate in the European Council meeting that will take place on 23 and 24 March.

To this end, he said, President Christodoulides will have meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, whose country currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Nicosia is seeking the appointment of an EU envoy for the Cyprus problem, who will always act within the framework of the efforts made under UN auspices and as Letymbiotis noted, President Christodoulides will outline his proposal on this. "The President of the Republic does not want to wait until the elections in Turkey and in Greece to begin these efforts," he said.

Replying to a question, Letymbiotis noted that there has been no answer so far as regards President Christodoulides' request to meet with the UNSG, Antonio Guterres, in Brussels on the sidelines of the European Council, as Guterres will be there to meet with the EU leaders. “We know that Guterres has a tight programme and so we are waiting to see,” he added.

(Source: CNA)