The National Council will be convening on Thursday at 10am ahead of the expanded conference on the Cyprus problem, to be held in New York in July, under UN auspices.

During the meeting under President Nikos Christodoulides, the political parties will be informed on the latest development in the Cyprus problem.

“Our dedication to the resumption of substantive negotiations where they were cut off, within the agreed framework set out by the Security Council resolutions, remains unchanged,” government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.

The aim, he reiterated, was a comprehensive and viable solution of the Cyprus problem.

The planned conference is expected to bring together key stakeholders with a view to advancing talks.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 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 and 18.

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.

The UN and the EU announced envoys for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin and Johannes Hahn respectively.

The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended inconclusively.