President Nikos Christodoulides is hoping today’s Cyprus talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman will mark the beginning of more intensive and effective consultations on the Cyprus issue.
The meeting between the two leaders is taking place at the United Nations Good Offices Mission in Cyprus.
Speaking before travelling to the meeting, Christodoulides said the aim was to begin more intensive consultations, with the week of the UN General Assembly in New York serving as an informal milestone.
The President is expected to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York during the General Assembly.
Following the official General Assembly week, the Turkish Cypriot leader is also expected to travel to New York, allowing both leaders to brief the UN chief separately on the outcome of their intensive consultations.
Convergences on the agenda
Christodoulides expressed hope that the Cyprus talks would provide a starting point for “intensive and effective consultations”, in line with the direction agreed during the UN Secretary-General’s recent visit to Cyprus.
He also referred to the expected visit to Cyprus in early September by the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguín.
According to Christodoulides, preparations by the United Nations concerning the areas of convergence are at a “very advanced stage”.
The issue of convergences will also be discussed during today’s meeting, with the aim of creating the conditions for talks to resume from where they broke off in summer 2017, as requested by the UN Secretary-General.
Illegal actions and peace efforts
Asked about the strained atmosphere caused by heightened tensions between Greece and Turkey, as well as Turkish Cypriot complaints over the cancellation of international festivals in the occupied areas, Christodoulides distinguished between illegal actions and efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.
“It is something entirely different, illegality and illegal actions, from the effort to begin negotiations and, much more so, to achieve a solution to the Cyprus issue,” he said.
Christodoulides stressed that a settlement could put an end to issues arising as a result of illegal actions.
Also read: Erhürman: International events in occupied north do not mean recognition of “TRNC”
For more videos and updates, check out our YouTube channel
