President, Nikos Christodoulides, spoke on Thursday afternoon about the submission of new ideas which, with the necessary political will, could lead to positive developments in the Cyprus issue, in remarks made upon his return to the Presidential Palace, following his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman.
He also expressed the Greek Cypriot side’s readiness to extend their stay in New York beyond next week should the UN Secretary-General deem it possible to hold either a joint meeting between the two leaders or an expanded conference.
Asked whether today’s meeting followed the same pattern as previous ones, the President of the Republic replied in the negative, adding that he had raised some new points regarding confidence-building measures, the methodology and the substance.
‘It was a good meeting, as recorded in the United Nations statement,” he said.
“I put forward some new ideas on all three issues: the CBMs, the substance and the methodology. The Turkish Cypriot leader reserved judgement on them, there was no negative response. On some points, further clarification was requested, which I provided,” he added.
“All of these, together with a few others that we have prepared, I will also mention to the Secretary-General, as well as to Ms Holguin, at the meeting we will have prior to the meeting with the (UN) Secretary-General, and I believe these are proposals and ideas that can lead us to positive developments as soon as possible,’ he noted in this regard.
Asked to provide further details on some of these proposals, President Christodoulides said that he wished to brief the Secretary-General first, whilst he also awaits Erhurman’s response, he will then discuss them with María Ángela Holguín and the Secretary-General, and the Cypriot people will then be informed.
‘I truly believe that these new ideas on all three issues can lead us to positive developments,’ he noted.
Asked whether this could happen even within the coming week, the President said that this would depend on the final positions taken on these ideas.
‘These are ideas which, if the necessary political will exists, could lead to developments as early as next week,” he stressed.
I can speak for our side, he noted, “we are fully prepared”.
That is why, he explained, “we have carried out all this preparatory work – not only in the run-up to today’s meeting, but also in the run-up to the meeting with the Secretary-General and other meetings that both the Foreign Minister and I will be attending in New York – so that we may achieve what we are seeking – the resumption of talks – and bring about positive developments in the Cyprus issue.’
The President added that some of the positions relate to the European Union dimension, with the Greek Cypriot side working towards positive developments.
Asked whether these were new proposals or whether they built on existing ones and upgraded them, President Christodoulides said that some of them were new ideas that had not been put forward previously.
In response to a question regarding the recording of areas of convergence, he said that this was a matter concerning the substance, adding that the Greek Cypriot side had put forward some very specific new ideas and approaches on this matter as well.
Asked whether any progress had ultimately been made or whether only the new ideas had been discussed, the President of the Republic said that those issues on which there is a differing approach had been set aside.
‘We want results. We prepared ourselves, we put forward new ideas, but they fall under the three headings. You realise that all of them, or at least some of them, are related in some way, because they fall under the three headings: confidence-building measures, methodology and substance,’ he added.
Asked whether there had been any discussion about the two leaders jointly requesting a trilateral meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General in New York, the President of the Republic said that this would be decided by the United Nations Secretary-General.
‘We will brief the Secretary-General on all the discussions. For our part, as far as I can say, we will also put forward some other ideas and views, and it is the Secretary-General who will decide, whenever he deems it appropriate, whether to hold a joint meeting or an expanded conference. For our part, we are fully prepared, and if we need to stay in New York longer to hold such a meeting, we will, of course, do so,’ he stressed on the matter.
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.