The current status quo cannot be the solution of the Cyprus problem, President Nikos Christodoulides, said on Monday, during his meeting with UN Under Secretary-General for Political and Peace Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, at the Presidential Palace.
The UN official said she was looking forward to the enlarged meeting in March and conveyed the UN Secretary-General’s commitment to assist both sides in moving forward.
Welcoming Di Carlo, President Christodoulides said that he is looking forward to the discussions, expressing his readiness to convey specific proposals to the UN official on the way forward and especially in order to have a successful outcome when the Secretary-General decides to convene the enlarged meeting.
“We are ready to participate. For us the current status quo cannot be the solution of the Cyprus problem and as the time passes the situation is getting worse and worse,” he stressed.
He added that there are no frozen conflicts in the wider region and reiterated his eagerness to exchange views with DiCarlo on how to resume negotiations “from the point that they stopped in Crans Montana” and submit “very specific proposals on the way forward”.
On her part, the UN Deputy Secretary General said she was very happy to be back to Cyprus and that she was looking forward to the enlarged meeting in March.
“The Secretary-General is very committed to assist the sides in moving forward, I am very pleased that there will be this meeting,” she stressed, adding that the dates of the meeting will be shared soon.
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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
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Source: CNA
