The High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly represents the year’s foremost diplomatic moment, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Sunday, adding that the meeting that the President of Cyprus will hold with the UNSG on September 24th, is a pivotal one.
Speaking to journalists in New York and referring to the meetings President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides will hold during his stay there for the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, the Spokesman said that ‘the UN High-Level Week is the most important diplomatic moment of the year. We are, of course, here with the Cyprus issue at the centre of our efforts and with a focus on the initiatives undertaken by the President of the Republic to resume substantive negotiations’.
This year, the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly is being held under the theme of restoring trust and defending and promoting multilateralism-issues and principles which, as the Spokesman noted, ‘the Republic of Cyprus has been defending, upholding and advancing, and has been seeking to safeguard, for the past 52 years.’
‘Today, September 20, marks the anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus becoming an official member of the United Nations in 1960, joining this great family, the UN family, which seeks to convey its messages through the defence and promotion of international law,’ the Spokesman said.
He added that ‘the meeting between the President of the Republic and the UN Secretary-General is a pivotal one, alongside the many bilateral meetings he will hold during the week with heads of state and government, institutional partners and leading global energy companies.’
The Spokesman said that the meeting with the UN Secretary-General is scheduled for September 24 and will be preceded by a meeting between the President and the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín.
‘We are coming into these meetings following a period of regular contacts and discussions and, as the President of the Republic has already made known, he is coming with ideas, proposals and suggestions regarding confidence-building measures, as well as the methodology and substance of the Cyprus issue,’ he pointed out.
Letymbiotis explained that the Government’s objective ‘remains unchanged.’
‘Our aim is to see how we can contribute, to the extent of our own capabilities, to making possible the convening of an expanded meeting, in line with the objective set by the UN Secretary-General. A successful expanded meeting that will serve as a substantive springboard towards the resumption of meaningful negotiations from the point at which they were interrupted,’ he said.
Beyond that, Letymbiotis continued, another major diplomatic moment will be the day on which the President of the Republic addresses the UN General Assembly.
‘Before the international community, we will convey our messages concerning our self-evident effort for Cyprus to become a normal, modern European state, without anachronistic guarantees and occupying troops, a Cyprus that will continue to demonstrate its great importance and value in the Eastern Mediterranean region,’ he said.
Asked whether the possibility of a trilateral meeting, either with the UN Secretary-General or with Holguín, had been discussed, the Spokesman said that ‘at least so far, there is no prospect of a joint meeting either with the UN Secretary-General or with his Personal Envoy”.
Of course, he went on to say, “such a possibility is something we view and approach positively. President Christodoulides himself has said that, if the Secretary-General’s schedule allows, certainly after High-Level Week, we are considering the possibility of extending our stay in New York precisely in order to make such a meeting possible. Ms Holguín is coming to New York next Tuesday, the day on which she will meet with President Christodoulides’.
Asked when Holguín would meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader, the Spokesman said that, according to the information available to him, ‘it will be next Wednesday, the day after her meeting with the President of the Republic’.
He added that, regarding the possibility of a trilateral meeting, ‘we will wait to hear from her directly. Of even greater significance will be the meeting with the UN Secretary-General, during which there will be a joint assessment and evaluation of the steps taken so far but, more importantly, of the steps that can be taken in the period ahead.’
Asked whether the document recording the convergences had been prepared, Letymbiotis said that ‘this is something on which we, too, are waiting to be briefed by Ms Holguín”.
” It is known that the United Nations has begun recording the convergences. We had expected to receive this update during the visit Ms Holguín was due to make to Cyprus, which had been scheduled for September but was postponed for personal reasons. This is something that will form part of the discussion next Tuesday between the President of the Republic and Ms Holguín’, he concluded.
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.