Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, on Friday described as ‘a positive development’ a meeting between UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, noting that he responded positively to Guterres’ ideas aimed at advancing the Cyprus problem process.
In his statements, on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Central Bank of Cyprus in Nicosia, and, asked by a journalist about reports that Tatar was to travel to New York to meet Guterres, President Christodoulides noted that during his meeting with the UN Secretary-General in Brussels, he told him that, as soon as their meeting was announced, Tatar asked to go to Brussels to meet the Secretary-General as well, and that he believes it was within that context the meeting was taking place.
He said he considered it as ‘a positive development’, that such a meeting would take place. ‘We want the Secretary-General to be actively involved in the effort for the restart of the talks’, he added.
President Christodoulide
s said that he discussed some specific ideas with the UN Secretary-General, adding that, ‘he shared with me some of the ideas he has for the process to move forward’. ‘I responded positively, and I hope there will be a positive response from the Turkish side as well,’ he noted.
To a journalist’s comment about the Turkish Cypriot leader’s positions, President Christodoulides said that he could not speak on behalf of Tatar. ‘We hear the statements every day, but that doesn’t mean we will stop this effort’, he said.
He noted that he also mentioned earlier in the day in a meeting with students from Greece, that the passage of time creates new faits accomplis and more difficulties in achieving the goal ‘and we will do everything possible for the restart of the talks for the solution of the Cyprus problem’.
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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 20
17 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
In January, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Columbia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency