Nicosia, Cyprus. Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Monday that any enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem must be convened with the clear objective of resuming substantive negotiations. He spoke after the conclusion of a National Council meeting.
Meeting objective
Letymbiotis said an enlarged meeting could not be convened simply for its own sake and must instead act as a springboard for the resumption of negotiations.
He said there could be no other objective, given both the timing and the fact that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had personally undertaken the initiative.
UN initiative and timeframe
Letymbiotis said Guterres was seeking substantial developments on the Cyprus issue by December, before the end of his term, and that this was central to discussions on convening the next informal meeting.
An enlarged meeting is expected to include the island’s two sides, the three guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations. It is expected to be convened either toward the end of next month or at the beginning of August.
Contacts under way
Referring to Monday’s meeting, Letymbiotis said there was a common view recognizing renewed movement on the Cyprus issue as a result of Guterres’ new initiative.
He said Cyprus was in constant communication with the United Nations, with meetings taking place and contacts being made at every level to convene an informal enlarged meeting as soon as possible.
Basis for renewed talks
Letymbiotis said any recommencement of negotiations would begin from the point at which the previous process was interrupted, referring to the collapse of talks in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017.
He said safeguarding the negotiating framework and achieving the reunification of Cyprus remained the highest national goal, adding that every opportunity, diplomatic opening and initiative would be used.
Political backing
Letymbiotis said the latest initiative on the Cyprus problem had been welcomed by all political forces without exception.