Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides has described the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres` visit to Turkey as important, noting that this takes place in the framework of the Secretary General`s will to play a more active role in the process for a Cyprus settlement and in other issues which concern the UN.
In statements to the media on Friday, Christodoulides noted that certainly the Cyprus problem will be among the two issues that will prevail during Guterres` discussions in Ankara, adding that the Cyprus government is in constant contact with the UN Secretariat and the UNSG himself. “We are hopeful that his meetings (in Turkey) will produce results which will allow us to be optimistic about the continuation of the process,” he added.
Invited to say if he believes that Turkey will be more flexible in its positions after the referendum at the country, in April, the Spokesman said that there are assessments according to which no move should be expected from Turkey before the referendum on the constitutional amendments in the country, while on the other hand assurances are given from Turkish officials and are being conveyed by the UNSG`s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide that the referendum does not influence developments in the Cyprus problem.
Christodoulides said the government cannot address the Cyprus talks based on assessments and added that everything will be judged at the negotiating table.
Responding to a question, Christodoulides said that during the meeting between Cyprus President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Thursday, in the framework of the UN-led talks on the Cyprus problem, Akinci put forward the issue of the four fundamental freedoms but President Anastasiades refused to discuss it.
As regards the next session of the Conference on Cyprus, the Spokesman said that is has not been decided yet when it will take place, adding that it will certainly not take place before the 13th of March.
The Conference on Cyprus convened, on January 12, in Geneva, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, with the participation of Anastasiades and Akinci, the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom as guarantor powers, and in the presence of the European Union as an observer, to address the issue of security and guarantees, a crucial chapter in discussions for a Cyprus settlement.
The Conference decided to establish a working group at the level of deputies to identify specific questions and the instruments needed to address them, and that the Conference will continue at political level immediately thereafter to review the outcome of the working group’s discussions.
In parallel, according to the decision, the negotiations on outstanding issues in the other chapters will continue between the two sides in Cyprus.
The working group of deputies met in Mont-Pelerin, Switzerland, on January 18-19, and according to UNSG’s Special Advisor for Cyprus Espen Barth Eide it “successfully completed the mandate entrusted to it by the Conference.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Anastasiades and Akinci have been engaged in UN-led negotiations since May 2015, with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.