Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Sunday denied that there is only a “remote chance” of an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem being convened during the summer, as efforts continue both on the island and abroad to bring one about.
“We do not have such information. If there is a will, and if there is the sincere intention to convene an informal multilateral meeting, there is time to arrange an informal multilateral meeting,” he said.
However, he stressed that the Greek Cypriot side’s aim is not simply for a meeting to be held.
“This informal multilateral meeting should and does aim to entail the announcement of the resumption of negotiations with a view to the definitive resolution of the Cyprus problem. Therefore, it is now up to the occupying Turkey to prove that it has the determination, that it has the sincere will and intention to function constructively,” he said.
On this front, he was asked whether President Nikos Christodoulides had been offered any information by the European Union regarding last week’s Nato leaders’ summit in Ankara, and said that “obviously, he had”.
Christodoulides, he said, held telephone conversations with both European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the pair had met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the summit’s sidelines.
“They both contacted [Christodoulides] early in the morning. This had its own value, the fact that on their own initiative, and so soon, they chose to inform [him]. An exchange of views took place. What I think is now evident from all the statements made both by Turkey and the United Nations is Turkey’s interest in exploiting relations between Europe and Turkey,” he said.
Pursuant to this, he said that “what has become clear once again, and through the European institutions, is that the progress of relations between Europe and Turkey goes through the Cyprus issue, and that the Cyprus problem is not a national problem, but a European problem”.
“As such, it must be approached by Turkey itself, if it really wants to see progress in relations between Europe and Turkey,” he said.
On the matter of United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s current round of contacts, he made reference to her planned meeting with Antonio Costa on Monday, while also making reference to the planned gathering of around 25 leaders of the ‘Coalition of the willing’ states which have pledged support for Ukraine in Paris on the same day.
“It is known that this week, [Ursula von der Leyen], as well as several leaders, will be in Paris at the invitation of President [Emmanuel] Macron. If there is a change in the schedule of Holguin’s contacts, this will be announced by her,” he said.
The ‘Coalition of the willing’ is now made up of 37 countries, including all three of Cyprus’ guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and Cyprus itself. Monday’s meeting in Paris will be the first upon both Moldova and North Macedonia’s joining of the coalition.
Leaders, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, are expected to gather at Paris’ Hotel des Invalides on Monday, with many of the day’s participants also expected to attend Tuesday’s Bastille Day celebrations in France’s capital city.
The Cyprus Mail has contacted both the governments of Cyprus and Turkey to inquire whether they will also send representatives to Paris.
Last week, von der Leyen and Costa had both called on Erdogan to “seize the renewed momentum” to bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem, with the UN having undertaken a “new initiative” in recent weeks and months with the aim of bringing about a resumption of negotiations in earnest to resolve the Cyprus problem.
This meeting came with the UN having undertaken a “new initiative” in recent weeks and months with the aim of bringing about a resumption of negotiations in earnest to resolve the Cyprus problem.
In line with this, Holguin is expected to return to the island after her meeting with Costa to hold more meetings with Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, with a view to convening an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the UK, and the UN.
In advance of that, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, and Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner all visited Turkey and signed a joint declaration with Hakan Fidan offering their support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts in Cyprus.
Holguin, meanwhile, called on Cypriots to “seize this historic opportunity to negotiate a lasting solution” and saying that Guterres is “evaluating which could be the next phases that will convince both parties to take concrete steps towards a final solution”.
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