We are fully prepared for all scenarios and we are going to the Cyprus meeting in Geneva with one specific goal, the resumption of negotiations from where they left off in Crans Montana, President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides said Wednesday, during a cross-channel interview with TV stations, on the occasion of the completion of two years since he assumed office.
Replying to questions, he said that whether we will achieve this goal also depends on the Turkish side and stressed that the starting point of the meeting is the agreed framework on the Cyprus issue.
President Christodoulides said that if we do not achieve the goal of resuming the talks “we have a second, we have a third, we have a fourth goal” something that he discussed, as he said, the previous evening with the UN Secretary General during a long conversation that took place upon the initiative of President Christodoulides in the context of the preparation ahead of the Geneva meeting, that will take place next week.
He also said that he had a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council, and will have one tomorrow with the Polish Prime Minister, who was in Turkey today, while he is in contact with the President of the European Commission and has also visited Athens.
President Christodoulides also said that the EU has conveyed to the UN its desire to be present at the negotiating table, while regarding the appointment of a personality from the EU side, he said that we should wait for the developments in the coming days.
“I am going to Geneva and the UN Secretary General is going to Geneva to achieve a result and we know what this is and what the priority is”, he stressed.
He also said that after Geneva, the UN Secretary-General and himself will take part together in the European Council to discuss the positions of the EU and the UN on all issues of concern to the international community, including the Cyprus problem, stressing that “this is also important, especially in relation to the content of the solution to the Cyprus problem.”
President Christodoulides pointed out the UN’s leading role on the Cyprus issue and stressed that as a result, the UNSG is the first to ensure that any discussion cannot deviate from the UN framework.
Moreover, he made it clear that “anything that goes beyond the agreed framework I will not even accept to discuss it.”
He said that he is ready to discuss all six points of the Guterres framework from 2017 during talks in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana, and that he has positions on all six points. He said that in Crans Montana, for the first time, the convergences that had been achieved were better than previous efforts made for the Cyprus problem and the main reason for this was the accession of Cyprus to the EU.
The President pointed out that during the two years since he took office, the Republic of Cyprus has been upgraded at the international arena and referred to the initiatives of Nicosia regarding the humanitarian aid sea corridor for Gaza, the strengthening of the ties with the US, the role it claims within the EU, the relations with Israel, noting that all of these “touch on the essence of the Cyprus problem and are already sending messages to the UN Secretary General”.
“I am glad that our political will has been recognized and there is this mobility from the UN Secretary General” he said, pledging that he is ready “to assume my personal responsibilities as President of the Republic of Cyprus, as the leader of the Greek Cypriot side, at the negotiating table”.
Noting the fact that Turkey wants to participate in the European Defence Agency, he said that the message he conveyed in Hungary during a discussion with the Turkish Foreign Minister was that “if you wish, we are ready as long as there is a solution to the Cyprus problem”. The Turkish Foreign Minister’s reaction, he said, was that Turkey is a large country and will help the EU.
The President also said that yesterday, the Chief of the Cyprus National Guard, at the invitation of the Chiefs of the French Forces and the British Forces, was in Paris for a meeting on the issue of Ukraine and that the Turkish Chief of the Armed Forces was also present there. This is recognition of the role of the Republic of Cyprus, he said.
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 due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced an expanded meeting, in Geneva, on March 17 and 18, to exchange views with the Cyprus President and the Turkish Cypriot leader on ways of achieving progress on the Cyprus issue, following their informal dinner on October 15, 2024, in New York. Representatives from Greece, Turkey and the UK are also expected to attend the meeting.
Also read: EU is committed to UN resolutions on Cyprus
Source: CNA
