President ‘focused on his cooperation with UN Sec General’, says spokesman

Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said on Friday that President Nicos Anastasiades was focused on his cooperation with the UN Secretary-General, whose initiative for a trilateral meeting on Cyprus problem is ongoing.

At the same time, he said that the Government was monitoring and taking into account what the Turkish Government was trying to do, say or imply.

Replying to questions from journalists at the Presidential Palace on whether there was anything new on the trilateral meeting between the President of the Republic of Cyprus, the UN Secretary-General and the Turkish Cypriot leader, he said there were consultations with the United Nations Secretariat because the Secretary General intends to convene a meeting with the two leaders. He added that what’s pending now was the exact date and place that the meeting would take place.

Prodromou pointed out that that the President of the Republic, throughout this process, had always been positive and was cooperating with the UN. He added that when there is an agreement, it would be announced.

Asked when the UN Secretary-General`s Special Envoy Jane Hol Lute will come to Cyprus, he said that what they know was that there was interest in coming to Cyprus and they assume that the visit would take place before the meeting with the Secretary General.

Invited to comment on Turkish Foreign Minister’s reports on the Cyprus issue, the Spokesman said the Turkish Government has made various statement from time to time.

“The UN has long made clear that the terms of reference need to be agreed, and on this basis the President has always worked in a positive spirit with the UN,” he said.

The President of the Republic, as he said, “has long been positively positioned and has left open the possibility of some consultation with the guarantor forces, in order to resume effective negotiations. It is up to the SG to invite the two sides now and the President is focused on this cooperation with Mr. Guterres in this endeavour “.

Asked if Nicosia was concerned with statements such as those of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the issue, the Spokesman said that Nicosia was monitoring all developments and all statements.

He added that what’s important was that the President has made constructive proposals from time to time, as the proposal for the meeting of the two leaders with the SG because “our side is seeking to restart negotiations on the well-known basis, which is the joint statement with which the negotiations began, the convergences, and the six points of the Secretary General”.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

(Cyprus News Agency)