Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Friday described UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ upcoming visit to Cyprus as “very significant”, saying it marks the first visit by a UN chief to the island in 16 years and is aimed at advancing efforts to restart negotiations on the Cyprus problem.

Speaking to CyBC radio, Letymbiotis stressed that the visit, scheduled for July 27 to 29, was “not a ceremonial one”.

He said Guterres’ objective was to help create the conditions for an informal expanded conference on Cyprus, adding that the visit sent a clear message to those who had invested in continued deadlock and the preservation of the status quo.

According to Letymbiotis, an informal multilateral conference could still take place before the end of the summer, provided Turkey adopted a constructive approach and abandoned its demand for a two-state solution.

He said the aim of such a meeting would be to restart negotiations from the point at which they were suspended.

Commenting on reports of possible new ideas for resolving the Cyprus issue, Letymbiotis reiterated that any future talks must remain firmly based on the framework set out in United Nations Security Council resolutions, as well as the principles, values and legal order of the European Union.

The government spokesman also confirmed that President Nikos Christodoulides will convene a meeting of political party leaders before Guterres’ arrival to brief them on the latest developments.

The United Nations announced on Thursday that Guterres will visit Cyprus from July 27 to 29, as diplomatic efforts continue to create the conditions for the resumption of formal negotiations on the island’s decades-long division.