President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides is going to the informal trilateral meeting in New York strengthened both internally and in terms of the diplomatic footprint that Cyprus now has, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis told CNA on Saturday.
He added that “the Greek Cypriot side is going to the meeting with a very constructive attitude but also a constructive wider understanding that these developments can contribute, if there is political will on the other side, to making progress.”
Asked to make a first assessment of the MED9 Summit which took place on Friday in Paphos, he said that it was clear both in substance and from the joint declaration of the leaders that it was “a very successful meeting, having touched upon pertinent issues and issues of concern to the whole of the EU, including also very clear references to the Cyprus problem, giving a clear indication of the direction that the EU is taking in our efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, and in light of the Euro-Turkish re
lations, in the context of the conclusions of the April European Council, with the characteristic reference to the Cyprus problem as a European problem.”
“Another very positive element that contributed to the success of the Summit was the presence of the King of Jordan at such a critical time in relation to developments in the Middle East and the role that Jordan has played in the region over time,” Letymbiotis continued.
The Government Spokesperson noted that discussions were very useful as regards the relationship the EU should have with Jordan, which, he said, “has proven to be a reliable partner and a pillar of stability in the region”, but also as regards “the situation in the Middle East, the common concerns about de-escalating the crisis and how the European Union can assist in the efforts being made to implement the Security Council resolutions.”
Asked whether contacts between the leaders resulted in any initiatives to be taken in the near future, Letymbiotis referred to the bilateral meeting betwe
en the President of the Republic and the King of Jordan, which, among other things, concerned coordination in view of the forthcoming trilateral meeting between Cyprus, Greece and Jordan in November.
He also described as very important the quadrilateral meeting with the European Commission, Italy and Jordan on migration, an issue which, he said, “is a priority for all three countries, especially given the latest developments in the region.”
He added that the meeting “highlighted the need for a discussion at European Union level in order to define a common reading and a common line to address the issue, in order to adopt a gradual approach through concrete steps.”
Regarding the President’s schedule next week, the Government Spokesperson said that President Christodoulides departs on Monday morning for London where he will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the afternoon of the same day. He will then travel from London on Monday evening to New York, where he will meet with UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, he will depart from New York for Brussels to attend the European Council, where he will brief European leaders on the outcome of the meeting, he added.
“The President is going to the meeting strengthened both internally, having the support of the country’s political leadership, but also strengthened in terms of the diplomatic footprint that Cyprus now has, both through the declaration and the statements of the 9 Mediterranean states, but also following the statements made recently at the informal EU Foreign Affairs Council,” Letymbiotis said, adding that the meeting with the Prime Minister of the UK, a country with a penholder role in the Security Council and one of the three guarantor powers, is relevant, covering the whole range of possible contacts.
“We are going to the meeting with a very constructive attitude but also a constructive wider understanding that these developments can contribute, if there is political w
ill on the other side, to making progress,” he concluded.
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 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency