The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, will be in Paris on Thursday to take part in the new Ukraine coalition summit on March 27.
At the same time, he is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
The aim of the summit is to solidify a path to a ceasefire with Russia.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the student parade in Nicosia to mark the 25th of March Greek national anniversary, President Christodoulides announced that on Thursday he will be in Paris to attend a summit on Ukraine with a limited number of heads of state participating, something that shows that “the Republic of Cyprus is present in the discussions of the international community.”
“By utilising all the power factors of our country, because it is directly related to our great effort to solve the Cyprus issue, a strong economy, a strong welfare state, strengthening the status of the Republic of Cyprus, I am glad that on Thursday I will be in Paris at the invitation of the French President, both for a bilateral meeting and to represent the Republic of Cyprus at an important summit on Ukraine” he said.
Referring to the summit, President Christodoulides said it is a continuation of previous conferences that have taken place. He also reminded that recently, the Commander of the National Guard was present in France at a similar meeting, and this meeting “is the next step at the level of heads of state, in a limited composition, and the Republic of Cyprus has been invited, will be present.”
He also announced that he will also have a bilateral meeting with the French President, “both for issues related to our bilateral relations and for matters concerning our region, the broader Middle East, but also for some discussions that are taking place, and we are pleased that these discussions are happening at the EU level, especially regarding the need to strengthen the EU’s defence pillar”.
Cyprus and France, he added, “are among the two countries that have long been advocating the need to move forward as the EU, and we are happy to see these developments.”
“So, I conclude,” he said, “by stating that by utilising all the power factors of our country, both internal and external, we strengthen our great effort to achieve our number one goal, which is nothing other than the end of the occupation, the liberation, and the reunification of our homeland”.
In response to questions, he said that Turkey is one of the countries invited to attend.
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.
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Source: CNA
