Brussels, Belgium. Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides is due to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday on the sidelines of the European Council. His agenda includes the Middle East crisis, the foot and mouth disease outbreak, and the Cyprus problem.
Meeting with UN secretary-general
Christodoulides will meet Guterres on Wednesday afternoon, with government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis saying the initiative for the meeting was taken by the president.
Letymbiotis said the president will reaffirm Cyprus’ position in favour of the immediate resumption of talks from where they left off in Crans Montana, based on the agreed framework of solution, relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the EU acquis, and the principles and values of EU law.
He added that maintaining the current deadlock cannot be an option and that time passing makes the need for substantial progress more urgent.
Talks with European Commission president
In his meeting with von der Leyen, Christodoulides will discuss regional developments and the foot and mouth outbreak.
European events and Cyprus EU presidency priorities
Later on Wednesday, Christodoulides will participate in an event organised by the European Policy Centre, where he will present the vision and priorities of the Cyprus EU Presidency and highlight the need for the bloc to achieve further strategic autonomy.
He will also attend the Tripartite Social Summit, where he will refer to quality jobs and strengthening competitiveness as key prerequisites for a resilient and sustainable European economy.
What do you think should be the priority in efforts to restart talks on the Cyprus problem?
