The expanded conference on the Cyprus problem will take place in New York during the second fortnight of July, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday.

“The date that the United Nations will be announcing has been set. It will be just after the first fortnight and we are awaiting the official announcements,” Christodoulides said.

He pointed out the importance of meetings the UN chief’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin will be having in London and Brussels this week, including with the president of the European Council.

“It was something we discussed in Brussels. She will be coming to Cyprus before the expanded meeting and we are working towards a positive outcome,” the president said.

Asked if EU envoy Johannes Hahn would be attending the New York meeting, Christodoulides advised patience.

“Let us wait. We are not there yet. Hahn will be meeting with Holguin […] Let me remind you that the letter of the presidents of the Commission and Council before the first expanded meeting in Geneva was a reference document as to how the EU is truly interested in the Cyprus problem. It proved it later with the appointment (Hahn), setting out the framework of a possible solution as well,” Christodoulides said.

Replying to questions, he said Hahn “knows very well what he will do, he is in direct contact with the Commission president […] and is focusing on a specific target – through our own approach as well – on EU-Turkish relations.”

The president also said that upcoming elections in the north did not make things easier.

“We have to say things as they are. In many of his daily remarks [Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin], Tatar makes an attack against me, personally, but I choose not to answer because they are in the context of the pre-election campaign. Of course, they make things difficult,” he added.

Christodoulides said the UN secretary-general had called the meeting and “of course has some thoughts on how to move the process forward.”

The National Council will convene on Thursday, during which under Christodoulides, the political parties will be informed on the latest developments in 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.