The European Union wants to play a meaningful role in the UN-led process on the Cyprus issue and believes there is an opportunity to achieve significant progress in the coming months, the EU’s newly appointed Special Representative for Cyprus, Raffaele Fitto, said on Friday after meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides, at the Presidential Palace, in Nicosia. It is the first time the Executive Vice President of the European Commission pays a visit to Cyprus after he was designated Special Representative for Cyprus.
Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, who attended the meeting, described it as “very important and constructive” and reiterated Nicosia’s long-standing position that the EU has a key role to play in efforts to advance the Cyprus settlement process.
Speaking after the meeting, Fitto described his appointment as significant while stressing that it also carries an important political message from the European Union.
“The European Union is sending a very clear message, that it wishes to play an important role in the UN process on the Cyprus issue,” he said.
According to Fitto, the EU wants “to work and participate with a very important role in the United Nations process” because “it is very important for us to contribute positively to the process.”
He also said that one of the main purposes of his first visit to Cyprus was to hear directly the positions of the parties involved before shaping the next phase of his engagement.
“It is very important for me to listen to the positions,” he said, adding that he plans to return to Cyprus in the coming months to continue his contacts.
The EU official also expressed optimism about the prospects for progress, saying he believes “there will be an opportunity to achieve very important results in the coming months.”
In his statements after the meeting, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said the meeting between President Christodoulides and Fitto focused both on the envoy’s immediate priorities and on the broader framework for future contacts.
“It was a very important and constructive meeting,” Kombos said, noting that discussions covered “the next steps both at the practical level and regarding how we move forward in relation to the various contacts he will have with all those involved.”
The Foreign Minister said the government evaluates Fitto’s visit as very positive, emphasizing that the timing is particularly important.
“The timing is also very important,” he said, noting that it comes only a few days after the visit to Cyprus by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Kombos reiterated that the Republic of Cyprus has consistently argued that the European Union should play a more active role in efforts to advance the Cyprus issue.
“Our position from the outset has been that the European Union has an important role to play in achieving progress on the Cyprus issue,” he said.
He added that EU-Turkey relations “are an issue that can serve as leverage with regard to Turkey,” stressing that Nicosia remains “a steadfast supporter of this effort, both within the European Union and at the level of the United Nations.”
Referring to Fitto’s immediate programme, Kombos said Cyprus would await the outcome of the envoy’s first meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman later on Friday, while maintaining close coordination with the European Union.
“We will always remain in contact with the European Union, considering that it has a very important and useful role to play,” he said.
Asked whether Fitto also intends to visit Turkey, Kombos said the envoy is currently organizing his next steps.
“He is planning his next moves,” the Foreign Minister said, adding that “a Vice-President of the European Commission already has established channels of contact with Turkey that have existed for quite some time.”
According to Kombos, this is “another reason why the appointment of this particular Commissioner carries particular weight.”
He urged for patience while the European Union completes its internal planning, but expressed hope that very soon contacts will produce positive results.
Asked whether there is sufficient time to make meaningful progress before the end of the current UN Secretary-General’s term, Kombos acknowledged that the timeline is an important consideration.
“That factor does exist,” he said. “However, at the same time there is the political will expressed both by the Secretary-General and by the European Union, together with some very important initiatives that may take place and could produce a positive outcome.”
He said ideas and proposals are already under discussion, while additional proposals are expected on ways “to accelerate some of these issues in terms of timing,” taking into account the approaching end of the Secretary-General’s mandate.
“There is a possibility of achieving progress. We are working to create the conditions necessary for that progress,” Kombos said.
At the same time, he underlined that “to a very large extent, the answer to all these questions lies with Turkey.”
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.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. 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.