Cyprus president to meet Guterres as efforts continue to resume talks

New York, United States. Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides is scheduled to meet United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday as efforts continue to resume substantive negotiations on the Cyprus problem.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the objective is to transform Cyprus into a normal, modern European state, free from guarantees and occupying armies.

UN high-level week

Speaking on Sunday after arriving in New York for the UN’s high-level week, Letymbiotis said Cyprus’ participation would focus on the Cyprus problem and the president’s efforts to restart substantive negotiations.

He described the planned meeting between Christodoulides and Guterres as pivotal among the bilateral contacts scheduled for the week with heads of state and government, institutional partners and energy companies.

Meeting with UN envoy

Before meeting Guterres, Christodoulides is due to meet UN Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin on Tuesday evening.

Letymbiotis said the president arrives following a period of regular contacts and meetings, bringing ideas, proposals and suggestions on confidence-building measures, the methodology of the process and the substance of the Cyprus issue.

Enlarged meeting

He said the government’s goal is to help make possible an enlarged meeting in line with the objective set by the UN secretary-general.

During his visit to Cyprus in July, Guterres said an enlarged meeting involving the island’s two sides, the three guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the UN would be convened after adequate progress on confidence-building measures, the meeting’s methodology and the substance of talks.

Letymbiotis said Cyprus aims for a successful enlarged meeting that could serve as a springboard for resuming substantive negotiations from the point at which they were interrupted at Crans-Montana in 2017.

General Assembly address

Christodoulides’ address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday will be a key diplomatic moment, Letymbiotis said.

He said the president will convey Cyprus’ position on efforts to create a normal, modern European state that demonstrates its significance and value in the eastern Mediterranean.