The United Nations Secretary-General is set to meet with his personal envoy for Cyprus in early June.
María Ángela Holguín and Antonio Guterres will discuss the progress of developments in the Cyprus problem before preparing her report. The aim remains to reach an agreement that will bring the two leaders to the negotiations table.
Given that Holguín’s primary goal is a joint meeting of the two leaders, her report is believed to be particularly cautious to avoid further complicating matters.
Greece’s Minister, George Gerapetritis, in an interview with ‘REAL NEWS’, referred to the priority Greece attaches to resolving the Cyprus issue and the importance of having President Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, immediately engage in dialogue.
“The Cyprus issue remains the utmost priority for Greek foreign policy. We are working to bring the Cypriot President and the Turkish Cypriot leader to the dialogue table,” Gerapetritis remarked.
When asked about his recent meeting with the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Gerapetritis assured that there is an excellent level of cooperation with both Holguín and the Secretary-General himself. “We communicate and meet regularly to activate the dialogue mechanism between the two sides,” he stressed.
He also reiterated that the Cyprus issue was discussed during the meeting between the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Ankara. “The Greek position is clear,” Gerapetritis stated. “The two sides should engage in dialogue based on the UN Security Council resolutions for a bizonal, bicommunal federation. Dialogue should commence, and there should be a productive discussion leading us to a viable and beneficial solution for the Cyprus issue within the framework of these resolutions.”
He also noted that the Greek and Cypriot governments agree that “improving Greek-Turkish relations can only have positive outcomes for initiating dialogue on Cyprus.”
On Saturday, President Christodoulides clarified in his statements that the efforts of the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General had by no means reached a dead end. “There are problems and challenges that we were aware of and many that we anticipated, but Ms. Holguín is continuing her efforts,” he declared in response to journalists’ questions.
He mentioned that he is personally in touch with Holguín and also engaging with some EU member states, non-EU states, and permanent members of the UN Security Council “to explore ways to create prospects for the resumption of negotiations.”
“We know very well what we want, what we seek, and we hope to be able to start a discussion. When you feel confident in your positions and arguments, you have nothing to fear,” he said regarding the start of a dialogue and a meeting to assess the potential for restarting negotiations.
In response to another question, he acknowledged that there are indeed many reactions from the Turkish Cypriots regarding the stance of Tatar and Turkey. When asked about it, he said, “Diplomacy is the key to opening the path for dialogue to begin. Only through diplomacy. That is the option we have before us, and we are maximising its potential.”
In response to a journalist’s remark that in diplomacy, one must give to gain, the President replied, “What holds true in diplomacy is that there are no dead ends.”
When asked if the Greek Prime Minister and the Turkish President would meet again, the President mentioned they would have opportunities to do so, such as at the NATO Summit, two European Council meetings dedicated to the new heads of institutions, and the Ukraine Summit on June 16 in Switzerland, which US President might attend.
“There are many opportunities for contacts. But I’m not waiting for these occasions to do what needs to be done. We work daily towards the direction I mentioned before,” he emphasised.
