Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, who had a meeting on Thursday in New York with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said that the next meeting in broader format on the Cyprus issue will take place in Autumn and possibly in November.
The meeting between Christodoulides and the UNSG took place at the UN headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly.
In statements after the meeting, Christodoulides said that “I estimate that the meeting in broader format will take place in November, with the aim of resuming the talks.”
He said that the meeting with the UNSG was a very constructive one and focused on three topics.
The first issue, he said, was the humanitarian role of Cyprus, adding that the UN Secretary General thanked Cyprus for the role that it plays with the ‘Amalthea’ humanitarian sea corridor for the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Christodoulides noted that on Tuesday, a thousand additional tons of aid from Cyprus to Gaza were delivered adding that so far 25 thousand tons reached Gaza. “The appeal of the Secretary-General – because this is being done in cooperation with UNOPS – is to continue, to intensify the humanitarian aid mission, especially at this time when it seems that from other points, and from Jordan and Egypt, there are problems for the unhindered provision (of the aid),” he added.
The second issue they discussed he said, was the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU. “The Secretary General, being a European, understands the importance of this mission and we agreed that during the Cyprus Presidency we will work to further highlight the importance of the cooperation of the UN with the EU and the role of the UN in today’s international scene,” he pointed at.
Christodoulides added that the third issue they discussed was the Cyprus issue. “I thanked the UN Secretary General for his commitment, in the midst of two wars the UNSG is committed to the great effort to resume the talks”.
“We will hold a meeting on Saturday (President Christodoulides, UNSG and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar). The important developments that we hope to have will be during the next meeting in broader format that will take place in the Autumn, with the aim to announce the resumption of substantive talks from where they left off in Crans Montana, on the basis of the agreed framework” he stressed.
He added that the UNSG informed him about the arrival in Cyprus of the new Head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, UNFICYP, saying that he is a very close associate and friend of the UNSG “with whom we will work both towards addressing the challenges that exist for UNFICYP but also towards the great goal of resuming the talks”.
Invited to say which is the realistic goal for Saturday’s meeting, Christodoulides,said that “the realistic goal for Saturday is a review of the state of affairs and the determination of the next meeting after the electoral process in the occupied territories, that is, after October 19. I estimate from the discussion I had with the Secretary-General that this meeting in broader format will take place in November, with the aim of resuming the talks”.
( Source : CNA)
