The message of the heads of the three EU institutions – Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel and Roberta Metsola – to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is that he must appoint an envoy for the Cyprus issue so that a process for its settlement can begin. This has come up from the discussions which Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, has had with the three EU officials in New York. On Tuesday he met with the President of the European Parliament, Charles Michel. Meanwhile, President Christodoulides is expected to send a personal message to Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, when he addresses on Wednesday the UN General Assembly, as well as a message for a positive agenda. Christodoulides listened on Tuesday to Erdogan’s speech to the General Assembly. This is perhaps the first time since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, that a Cypriot President is present at the Assembly when a Turkish President delivers his speech. According to information, during their meeting on Tuesday, the President of the European Council told Christodoulides that he will meet on Sunday with Guterres and will reiterate that the EU insists that he must immediately proceed with the appointment of an envoy for the Cyprus issue, so that a settlement process can begin. Sources said that Michel was optimistic and considers that the UNSG will proceed with this appointment. Roberta Metsola was also expected to convey the same message to Guterres during a meeting they had on Tuesday in New York, as she told Christodoulides during a conversation they had earlier today. The same sources said that it is not clear yet whether Guterres will invite Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar for a joint meeting in New York or later, or if he will proceed to an appointment without inviting them to such a meeting. Moreover, the sources noted that Nicosia’s position during the recent events in the buffer zone in Pyla area and the recent interview which Christodoulides gave to a Turkish Cypriot journalist, have, despite what is said in public, led the Turkish side have second thoughts on certain issues. Meanwhile, President Christodoulides will meet on Wednesday in New York with Greek Premier, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the framework of the coordination that takes place between Nicosia and Athens. The Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey, George Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, met on Tuesday in New York to prepare the meeting which Mitsotakis and Erdogan will have on Wednesday there. What the Greek side underlines to the Turkish one is that Greco-Turkish issues cannot move forward unless efforts on the Cyprus problem move forward and the appointment of a UNSG envoy for the Cyprus question must be accepted. President Christodoulides will address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday at 0930 local time. Following that he will receive the Chairman of Chevron International. In the afternoon he will meet with Mitsotakis, while later on he will have a meeting with the Archbishop of America Elpidophoros. 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. On Friday August 18, 2023, men of the occupation regime, punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a U.N. controlled buffer zone. The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.
Source: Cyprus News Agency