Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Wednesday that the first meeting between President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of UNFICYP, Khassim Diagne, was a very constructive one, adding that the President expressed his political will for a close cooperation.
It was, he said, the first meeting of the President of the Republic with the new Special Representative of the UNSG in Cyprus, it was “a very constructive meeting, during which the President of the Republic expressed once again his sincere political will and the Republic of Cyprus’ for a close, good cooperation both with Diagne and with the United Nations, especially in the efforts that the UN Secretary-General personally makes for the resumption of negotiations, always within the agreed framework.”
He added that the President raised issues that due to Turkish provocations, remain pending, with the ultimate goal being the resumption of negotiations from the point where they had been interrupted.
Letymbiotis said that the President raised during the meeting issues related to the enclaved Cypriots, the five Greek Cypriots who have been illegally detained for over two months in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, the issue of Varosha, the Green Line, and the challenges we face daily.
In this context, he added, President Christodoulides reiterated that he and his associates are at Diagne’s disposal for daily, close contact and communication, “so that we can contribute to the greatest extent possible to his mission and terms of mandate, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
Replying to another question, he said that “as the President of the Republic has stated, repeated efforts have been made to make this telephone call possible. We hope that this telephone call with Erhurman (the new Turkish Cypriot leader) will take place as soon as possible.”
Asked when the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, is expected in Cyprus, he said that an official announcement on the matter is expected from the United Nations.
He added that it is certain that she will visit Cyprus in the near future, “after, I believe, the meeting with Erhurman is first arranged, so that she can hold the new round of contacts in Ankara, Athens, London and Brussels, with the aim of convening the informal multilateral conference, which the UN Secretary-General of himself has determined before the end of the year.”
The Government Spokesperson was also asked if there is any change in relation to the conference. “We do not yet have any such information. What we understand is that the arrangement for a meeting with Erhurman is also expected so that it can be finalised.”
He noted that “the Government, the President of the Republic has proven for two and a half years, in the most clear way,” that amidst adverse circumstances there is a constructive stance on our part and that “thanks to these initiatives that we have undertaken, this mobility that has occurred in the last two and a half years has been achieved.”
Concluding, he said that we now expect to see the real political will of the other side.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. An informal meeting in broader format is expected later this year.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.