Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday he was moderately optimistic about the next steps on the Cyprus problem after meeting United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin. He said both sides are working to prepare an enlarged meeting in the near future.
Optimism after meeting with UN envoy
Christodoulides said he would meet Holguin again later this week and described her planned contacts as important.
“It is important that she will visit Turkey, she will visit Greece, she will visit Brussels, she will come back to Cyprus,” he said.
He added that he is minded to convene a meeting of the National Council next week and said the government’s objective for the next steps is clear.
“We know where we want to go, we know what we are seeking, and I hope that this moderate optimism, based on what we discussed, will be transformed into something very specific and tangible,” he said.
Dates discussed but not disclosed
Asked whether any dates had been discussed for an enlarged meeting, Christodoulides said they had, but added that he could not make them public.
“I have been working on some dates, but it will be a long summer,” he said.
Focus on resuming negotiations
Asked whether any framework document or similar proposal had been submitted, Christodoulides declined to provide details, saying the priority was to secure a positive result.
“This effort is ongoing. We want more than anyone else to have a result, so I want to be sparing in my statements. The goal is to lead us into an enlarged meeting, during which the resumption of talks will be announced,” he said.
He added that this was also the goal of the United Nations.
Later, he said discussions with Holguin had focused on what he described as the essence of the Cyprus problem and on substantive issues.
“Based on these, if we reach the desired goal, to convene an enlarged meeting, which will see the announcement of a resumption [of negotiations] from the point at which they were interrupted, that will be our goal,” he said.
