The convening of a meeting on the Cyprus issue in a broader format is necessary, also because of its composition, for achieving meaningful progress and restarting negotiations, government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Friday.
During a briefing to journalists, the spokesperson, asked whether any initiative by the UN Secretary-General for a meeting in a broader format was expected during the summer, said Nicosia considers the convening of such a meeting - precisely because of its composition, “necessary and instrumental in achieving progress and restarting substantive negotiations.”
Prospects and principles
He reiterated that “we are fully prepared, even as early as next week, to attend this meeting in a broader format, precisely because this is what we have sought from the very beginning: the presentation of positions, arguments and views, so that the process may resume from the point at which it was interrupted.”
Asked to comment on statements by the Turkish Cypriot “foreign minister” that there was no prospect of a solution and that the Turkish Cypriot side would not abandon its position in favour of a two-state solution, he said it is self-evident to the entire international community that “there can be no deviation whatsoever from what is defined by international law - namely, a solution to the Cyprus issue that is in line with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the principles, values and laws of the European Union - and we will continue to repeat this consistently.”
He added that it should always be borne in mind that the Republic of Cyprus was, is, and will remain a member of the European Union after the resolution of the Cyprus issue.
“We are currently in the midst of a new initiative by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This has been stated publicly. No one has rejected it. It is an initiative aimed at achieving significant and meaningful progress before the end of this Secretary-General’s term of office,” he said.
'Appropriate climate'
He noted that the fact that the Secretary-General himself, who, has “deep knowledge about the Cyprus issue and the legacy of the previous negotiating process”, remains committed to resolving the Cyprus issue demonstrates what the objective truly is.
“The objective of any such process can only be the resolution of the Cyprus issue. Beyond that, statements which clearly do not contribute to the climate that Guterres himself wishes to foster regarding the resumption of negotiations and, of course, the resolution of the Cyprus issue, are not something we intend to engage with through public confrontations,” he said.
He stressed that “what we will continue to do, in close cooperation with the United Nations, is to make every possible effort, within the scope of our own capabilities, to remain constructive and to contribute positively to the appropriate climate” for the resumption of substantive negotiations as soon as possible and in order to achieve the desired solution, in line with the objective set by the United Nations.
CNA
