President: We are interested in the resumption of the Cyprus talks

We are interested in the substance, which is the resumption of talks on Cyprus, said on Saturday the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, noting that the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, is working in this direction.

Speaking to reporters, at the construction site of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Receiving and Regasification Terminal in the Vasilikos area, the President was invited to comment on his meeting with Holguin earlier Saturday, which he described as “very good”, during which Holguin reviewed her week on the island. The UN Envoy is expected to return to the island in April.

“We continue to work together, with a single goal, the resumption of the talks, step by step”, he said. “I hope, at least from our point of view this political will is declared, to achieve this goal,” he added.

He further said “we are interested in the substance and Holguin is working towards the substance, which is the resumption of talks,” President Christodoulides said.

He
added that Holguin will return again in April, adding that she would first visit some European capitals.

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.

In January, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Holguín 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