President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday that the Greek Cypriot side has not been approached by the UN Secretariat regarding a visit by a UNSG’s envoy in Nicosia on July 9-12.
The President was invited to comment on a statement by a UN source, saying that the UN Secretariat approached the two sides in Cyprus with regard to such a visit by Jane Holl Lute. “There is no such a thing. It is well known that we have been approached and asked to give our consent for the appointment of a special representative that will hold exploratory meetings and will look into the current state of play, so that the Secretary General will decide if he will convene a new Conference on Cyprus or not,” he added.
Asked if he remains optimistic that the UNSG will appoint an envoy after the Turkish elections, and that Ankara will give the green light so that negotiations on the Cyprus problem will resume, President Anastasiades said he hopes so
He recalled that the UNSG has been trying to appoint an envoy for a few months now and he had suggested another personality who was rejected by Turkey, noting that now it is only Turkey which has not responded to the UN.
Anastasiades said that despite`s Ankara’s refusal, acting wisely as he did in Crans Montana, the UNSG did not blame Turkey, to leave the prospects for dialogue open.
He expressed hope that after the Turkish elections, Turkey will give its consent for this appointment, so that the UNSG`s envoy will explore the possibilities for resuming the dialogue and see at last which side is really pursuing the convening of a new conference, on the basis that has been outlined, and in the framework determined by the UN resolutions and the EU fundamental principles.
