EU aknowledges our credibility and political will and our role in the region, President Nikos Christodoulides said in an interview with Euronews, following Wednesday’s meetings with the heads of the European institutions in Brussels and the Geneva informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format that took place on March 17 and 18.
He said that during the informal meeting on Cyprus he expressed, among other things, readiness for Confidence Building Measures towards the Turkish Cypriots, but also Confidence Building Measures between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey.
Christodoulides noted that the Republic of Cyprus is not only the Cyprus problem but a state that will continue to be a member after the solution and should be able to further strengthen its role.
The President said that it is within this framework that there is an intense interest of the European Union.
Regarding the Geneva informal meeting, he reiterated that what has been avoided is also very important, such as the cooperation that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar wanted in a number of areas that touch upon state sovereignty, noting also that Tatar did not want the appointment of a UN Secretary General personal envoy.
Referring to Turkey’s strong interest in progress in its relations with the EU, President Christodoulides stressed that the message on behalf of the EU was sound and clear that all of these can be examined through specific developments in the Cyprus issue.
The President referred to what he described as a social meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, in Geneva, with whom, he added, he had the opportunity to discuss during the extended discussion, in the presence of the UNSG, as well as the Turkish Cypriot leader and the representatives of Greece and Britain.
“And there we had a substantive discussion. I expressed Cyprus’ readiness for example, for Confidence Building Measures towards the Turkish Cypriots, but also Confidence Building Measures between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey. And I expressed my readiness to him as well, addressing him, to see positive developments in EU-Turkish relations, if and as long as there are specific developments in the Cyprus issue, as clearly recorded in the conclusions of European Council in April 2024”, the President noted.
Regarding the situation in the Middle East and the role of the EU, he said that he will organize a special summit in Cyprus during the EU Cyprus Presidency (first half of 2026) to demonstrate the EU’s interest. About Ukraine, he said that the EU has a role to play and “what we need to do is to claim a clearly greater role”.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary General announced that an informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format will be held at the end of July, following a similar meeting in Geneva, on March 17-18.
Antonio Guterres also announced that he will appoint a new personal envoy on Cyprus to prepare the next steps, while the two sides agreed to proceed with a number of initiatives, involving the opening of crossing points, the creation of a Technical Committee on Youth and other initiatives in the buffer zone and throughout the island.