Nicosia, Cyprus. The National Council on Friday reaffirmed its support for President Nikos Christodoulides’ efforts to restart negotiations on the Cyprus problem, ahead of a visit next week by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Joint statement
In a joint statement issued after its meeting, the council welcomed Guterres’ visit as “a practical demonstration of his personal commitment” to efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.
Members also welcomed the appointment of European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto as the EU’s special envoy for the Cyprus problem.
The council said that, while respecting the differing positions of political parties, its members supported the president’s efforts to resume negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement.
Briefing to party leaders
Before the statement was issued, Christodoulides briefed party leaders on developments since the National Council’s previous meeting on June 22.
Disy leader Annita Demetriou described the coming days as “very important moments” and said her party would support the government’s diplomatic efforts.
“The Cyprus issue is and remains an absolute national priority,” she said, adding that Disy would support “every effort in the right direction” to resume negotiations from where they ended in Crans Montana.
Demetriou stressed the importance of preserving the existing negotiating framework and said the UN secretary-general’s visit should be “utilised to the fullest”.
Party positions
Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou also reiterated his party’s support for restarting negotiations from where they broke down in 2017, while preserving the convergences already achieved between the two sides.
He said it was too early to judge the prospects for progress.
