UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports the idea of a meeting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides on the Cyprus settlement issue. This became known after his meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides at the UN headquarters in New York, where the organization’s General Assembly is being held these days.
Now it’s Turkey’s turn
Diplomatic sources in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency said that the date of the meeting on Cyprus largely depends on the outcome of Guterres’ negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The position of the Turkish leader is crucial for the next steps, since it is the Turkish side that is responsible for the delays in organizing a trilateral meeting with either the UN Secretary General or his special envoy Maria Angela Holguin.
Türkiye asks to recognize territories
Erdogan spoke at the General Assembly on September 24. He said that the federal model for solving the Cyprus problem has “completely lost its relevance.” The Turkish leader called on the international community to recognize the occupied territories as an independent state.
He stressed that Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots have consistently “demonstrated a sincere will to achieve a just, permanent and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem.”
Cyprus is in favor of resuming negotiations
Meanwhile, Nikos Christodoulides indicated his readiness to resume the dialogue from the point where the conversation left off six years ago. In addition, he confirmed his flexibility in setting the date for this meeting.
Following negotiations with the UN Secretary General in New York, Christodoulides noted: “We had a very constructive discussion. We discussed the prospects for resuming negotiations, and I thanked the Secretary General, who supports the resumption of dialogue and the solution of the Cyprus problem based on the agreements already reached.”
He added that the head of the UN “for his part is taking steps in this direction” and expressed hope that these efforts will be effective.
The text was prepared based on materials from the Cyprus Mail publication
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