Greek Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis said on Thursday that the Cyprus issue has been upgraded to the highest level, expressing the view that a new opportunity for its solution has been created.
“The Cyprus issue, in the last 16 months, has been raised to the highest level”, Minister Gerapetritis noted in an interview with Greek radio, Real FM, referring to the importance of the appointment of a Personal Envoy by the UN Secretary-General, and the recent informal meeting between the UN Secretary-General and the two leaders in New York.
Turkey in recent years and since Crans Montana has declared that it will not come to the table for the Cyprus problem unless the international status of the illegal regime in the Turkish occupied areas is recognized, he said. “In fact, this position has been modified. Now Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots are discussing within the UN framework,” he pointed out.
“The Cyprus problem is again put on the world stage and a new opportunity for its solution is created,” Gerapetritis added, estimating that the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations contributed decisively to this development.
At the same time, he said that the Cyprus issue had also been upgraded at EU level.
“I would like to recall that the April 2024 European Council Conclusions, a few months ago, linked Turkey’s path towards the European Union with the developments on the Cyprus problem. It was a very, very serious development. Now, the Cyprus problem is becoming a priority for the European Union as well,” he underlined.
“So we have managed to upgrade [the Cyprus issue] at the UN level, to upgrade it at the level of the European Union and now Turkey is discussing the Cyprus issue,” he added.
Asked about the recent informal meeting between the Greek Prime Minister, the Cypriot President, the Turkish President, and the Prime Minister of Albania, on the sidelines of the European Political Community meeting, Gerapetritis defended its importance.
“I want to stress the following for those who do not understand the value of the President of the Republic of Cyprus talking to the Turkish President. I would like to point out that for 50 years such a meeting had not taken place. It was the first time in 50 years that we had this meeting,” he said.
The added value, he noted, “is that Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus. […] So, when the Turkish President talks with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, this is an important step for the Republic of Cyprus.”
Finally, asked about the reasons why Greece is not proceeding with the delimitation of the EEZ with Cyprus, the Greek Foreign Minister noted that “the discussion should be held with all the neighbouring states”.
“It is obvious that with Turkey there is also an issue of delimitation of the EEZ and the continental shelf, as well as with Cyprus. All these should be put on the table and we should move forward when time dictates,” 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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Also read: Gerapetritis welcomes ceasefire agreement
Source: CNA/AZA/EPH/2024
