Negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side on the Cyprus issue, Menelaos Menelaou, who was in New York for contacts last week, told CNA on Tuesday that the main message from his meetings was “a message of support” to the ongoing effort to revitalise the political process on the Cyprus issue within the framework set by the relevant UN resolutions.
Menelaou is expected to meet on Thursday with Güneş Onar, the Special Representative of the Turkish Cypriot leader, as part of their regular meetings, with the main subject being the upcoming meeting of the two leaders on Monday on the crossing points.
Asked by CNA about his meetings at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Menelaou said that he met with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, Miroslav Jenča, and the Chef de Cabinet to the UN Secretary General, Earle Courtenay Rattray.
He also said that he met with permanent and non-permanent Security Council members.
He noted that the main message from all the meetings was “a message of support” to the ongoing effort to revitalise the political process on the Cyprus issue within the framework set by the relevant UN resolutions in view of the expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue, which is expected to be held in the near future and in view of the discussion at the UN Security Council on the renewal of the resolution on the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) at the end of this month.
“The main message from the meetings is that the effort should continue within the framework set by the resolutions so that we can achieve the goal as soon as possible”, Menelaou said.
He also confirmed information regarding an upcoming visit by DiCarlo to Nicosia and to the capitals of the parties involved in preparation for the expanded conference on the Cyprus issue.
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.
On October 15, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted an informal dinner with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York, encouraging “the leaders to consider how to bridge the gap in their positions and rebuild trust to allow movement leading to a settlement.”
At the meeting, President Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to have an informal meeting in a broader format in the near future, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to discuss the way forward. They also agreed to have a meeting in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings. Earlier this month it was announced that this meeting will take place on January 20, at the Chief of Mission’s Residence, in Nicosia buffer zone.
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Source: CNA
