President Nikos Christodoulides expressed optimism on Thursday that there is a “window of opportunity” for the resumption of Cyprus problem talks before the end of the year.

Speaking after a meeting at the presidential palace with Indian Foreign Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Christodoulides said efforts to restart negotiations are ongoing through a series of consultations and contacts.

“We really wish more than anything else to reach a positive result,” he said.

He said UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin is continuing preparatory work ahead of her return to Cyprus.

He adding that discussions have been taking place “with meetings and contacts away from the spotlight, so that the conditions are created to achieve the goal of resuming talks.”

Christodoulides described the current phase as part of a broader UN-led effort, stating that Guterres is “fully committed” and “personally involved in this great effort”.

He said the aim is to move towards a structured process leading to the resumption of negotiations.

Responding to questions about timelines, he said that while discussions are ongoing, there is a need to avoid indefinite delay.

“We cannot discuss indefinitely,” he said, adding that there is a defined opportunity period “summed up in the completion of the secretary-general’s term by the end of the year”.

He reiterated that the objective remains the convening of an enlarged meeting involving all relevant parties.

Holguin is expected to continue a round of separate meetings with Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman in early June, followed by contacts in Turkey and Greece.

The UN has previously indicated that progress on confidence-building measures is needed before an expanded conference can be convened.

Christodoulides has said such a meeting would be a key step towards resuming formal negotiations, while Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has expressed reservations, arguing that progress on confidence-building measures should precede substantial talks.

The government has maintained that readiness exists to engage in discussions at any stage.

Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis has previously said Cyprus is prepared to attend an expanded conference “even next week”, stressing that the aim remains to restart talks from where they left off in 2017 at Crans Montana.

Christodoulides also referred to regional developments discussed with the Indian minister, including progress gained following his official state visit on the India Middle East Europe Corridor (IMEC), describing it as moving towards “gradual implementation”.