Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, will meet with the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Saturday morning in Athens to brief him on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus issue and exchange views ahead of the upcoming visit of the UN Secretary-General to Cyprus next week.
According to a written statement by the Director of the President’s Press Office, Victoras Papadopoulos, President Christodoulides will depart for Athens on Saturday morning, and the meeting with the Greek Prime Minister will take place at 11:30 a.m. at the Maximos Mansion.
Papadopoulos said that the purpose of the meeting is for the President of the Republic to brief the Greek Prime Minister and for the two leaders to exchange views on the latest developments concerning the Cyprus issue, particularly in light of the forthcoming visit of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to Cyprus from 27 to 29 July.
Following the private meeting between President Christodoulides and the Greek Prime Minister, expanded talks will be held between the delegations of the two governments.
President Christodoulides, who is scheduled to return to Cyprus early on Saturday afternoon, will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Constantinos Kombos, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna, the Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, the Director of the President’s Press Office Victoras Papadopoulos, and other government officials.
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.
After informal meetings in 2025, followed by a hiatus of several months, deliberations are underway for a new meeting in broader format to be held, as the term of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres nears its end. María Angela Holguín, Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.