The next meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar will take place on May 5, the President said on Tuesday.
In his statement while attending the 15th Nicosia Economic Congress in Nicosia and asked if there is any news on the appointment of a Personal Envoy by the UN Secretary General, the President said that official announcements from the UN side are awaited, adding that the latest information was that the relevant administrative work is currently underway.
He added that there had been a response from the Turkish Cypriot side on various dates and that the next meeting was set for 5 May.
“I look forward to the meeting I will have, but also to the announcement from the UN side and the arrival (of the Envoy) to Cyprus,” President Christodoulides said.
“We are ready to receive the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General to start the substantive discussion so that we are ready in view of the meeting at the end of July, the expanded conference that the Secretary General will convene,” he concluded.
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 announced that an informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format will be held at the end of July, following a similar meeting in Geneva, on March 17-18. Antonio Guterres also announced that he will appoint a new personal envoy on Cyprus to prepare the next steps, while the two sides agreed to proceed with a number of initiatives, involving the opening of crossing points, the creation of a Technical Committee on Youth and other initiatives in the buffer zone and throughout the island.
Also read: Christodoulides meets Tatar – Signs of progress
Source: CNA
