European Council and Commission Presidents Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen have sent UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a joint letter declaring the EU’s desire to be actively engaged in the Cyprus reunification effort, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said late on Monday evening, in Geneva.
Letymbiotis was speaking to journalists after a meeting of the National Council, which was convened following a dinner hosted by Guterres for the heads of delegations taking part in the informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format.
He said the dinner had more of a social character during which views were exchanged ahead of the important meetings set to take place on Tuesday.
He recalled that President Christodoulides will have bilateral meetings tomorrow with the UK’s Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty and the UN Secretary General.
The Government Spokesperson said that after the National Council meeting, President Christodoulides had a telephone call with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, followed by telephone calls with Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen. He added that they both expressed the EU’s support to the efforts for the resumption of negotiations.
The two top EU officials, he continued, sent a joint letter to the UNSG, which they copied to both President Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, pointing out that the letter was sent following an initiative by the Republic of Cyprus.
“As may be easily understood this is a move of high importance and value, both as to its timing but also its content and the messages it contains,” Letymbiotis stressed.
It constitutes, he noted, “a significant EU intervention at a crucial time”, adding that it comes after the stated intention that the EU wishes to be present in Geneva and is proof that the EU can and wishes to play a role using all available means at its disposal and at all stages of the process.
It is a joint letter, according to Letymbiotis, which proves the importance and weight given to the efforts to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem by the two EU officials and by extension by all EU member states.
In the letter, he noted, von der Leyen and Costa express “EU support of the efforts we are undertaking, the efforts undertaken by the UN SG.”
The key elements of the letter, the Government Spokesperson said, are off course the EU’s commitment in the efforts to reunify Cyprus within the UN framework, on the basis of the bizonal, bicommunal federation, and in accordance with the principles and values of the UN and the EU.
They express the hope that the Geneva meeting will pave the way for the resumption of talks, he added.
The EU, he pointed out, “expresses once more its readiness to play its role, to actively contribute but also to intensify even more its efforts in support of the process under the UNSG’s leadership.”
According to Letymbiotis, the letter “highlights and underlines the fact that the Cyprus problem as a European problem is of huge importance for the EU.”
When the two top institutions highlight the Cyprus problem in a joint letter, this fact alone has its own significance, he said.
The Government Spokesperson said that the Greek Cypriot side will take part in the meetings on Tuesday with constructive proposals, a constructive approach and political will for a positive outcome.
Asked about a meeting which took place between Cyprus President and Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs after the dinner, he clarified that it was a social exchange which lasted a few minutes, in the same context as the dinner itself. “They stayed for 10 to 15 minutes for a discussion of a social content,” he said replying to additional questions on the matter.
Also read: Informal Meeting continues with bilateral meetings and plenary session
Source: CNA
