President Nikos Christodoulides said Cyprus talks have reached a positive stage following the agreement by all sides to convene a new expanded conference format, which he described as a significant development after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to the island.
Speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace, Christodoulides welcomed Guterres’ efforts to restart substantive negotiations on the Cyprus issue, saying the UN chief remains fully committed to the process.
“I want to welcome the great effort made by the UN Secretary-General for the resumption of meaningful negotiations,” Christodoulides said.
Focus on existing negotiations framework
The President said he was taking three key points from the meetings held over the past two days.
The first, he said, was Guterres’ commitment to working within the framework of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The second was the importance of using the existing negotiation record and the convergences achieved during previous talks, including those up to the Crans-Montana conference.
“The negotiations do not start from zero,” Christodoulides said, stressing that the existing body of work would form the basis for future discussions.
The third point, he added, was the agreement by all sides to move towards an expanded conference, a step that was not guaranteed before Guterres’ arrival in Cyprus.
EU role and preparations ahead
Christodoulides said the European Union could play a more active role in supporting the process, both on issues related to the substance of the negotiations and in the wider EU-Turkey relationship.
He said work would immediately continue with UN Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin and EU officials to create the conditions for a successful expanded meeting.
The aim, he explained, would be for the conference to lead to an announcement on the resumption of negotiations from where they stopped at Crans-Montana.
Asked whether confidence-building measures were a prerequisite for the expanded conference, Christodoulides said they were not a condition for its convening.
“Confidence-building measures are certainly a positive development, but they are not a prerequisite,” he said.
President says more progress was possible
Christodoulides acknowledged that he would have preferred a faster timetable, including holding the expanded conference within a week.
“Could the results have been even better? Of course,” he said, adding that the developments following Guterres’ visit created important foundations for the next steps.
He also said discussions had focused for the first time since Crans-Montana on the substance of the Cyprus issue, including convergences, methodology and the negotiating framework.
The President added that the UN Secretary-General’s announcement of a new expanded conference represented progress because agreement on such a meeting had not previously been secured.
Also read: Guterres announces new 5+1 meeting after confidence-building measures
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