Cyprus Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikos Christodoulides, briefed on Monday his EU counterparts on the outcome of Geneva 5+1 informal meeting, both during the deliberations at the Foreign Affairs Council and in the context of separate contacts he had in the margins of the FAC meeting held in Brussels.
The common message given both during Minister Christodoulides` contacts and via the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell within the Council, according to an EU source, was the clear position that there can be no change of the basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
At the same time, both the High Representative and the European officials agreed that the full range of Euro-Turkish relations is directly linked to developments in the Cyprus issue, but also on the need for Turkey to contribute constructively to efforts to reach a solution based on the existing framework.
According to an EU source, during the Council`s work, in light of current developments, the Foreign Minister briefed his counterparts on the developments during the informal meeting on the Cyprus issue that was held in Geneva, on April 27-29, and in particular on the fact that the goal of resuming talks was not achieved, due to the Turkish approach to change the basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
He referred in particular to Turkey`s insistence on a two-state solution, outside the framework of the relevant decisions of the United Nations Security Council and the joint EU decisions, but also to the negative attitude of Ankara to the proposal of the Secretary General to appoint a UN Special Representative, through the UN Security Council, to explore the prospects of resuming talks in the near future.
During his speech, Christodoulides also reminded that it was not possible for the EU to be present at the informal meeting in Geneva again due to Turkey`s refusal.
In relation to the next steps and the readiness and decision of the UN Secretary General – as forwarded to the interested parties – to convene a new informal conference on the Cyprus issue in the next 2-3 months, with the aim of exploring the prospects for the resumption of the talks, taking into account the results of the European leaders` discussion last March on the future of Euro-Turkish relations, Minister Christodoulides called on both the Institutions and the EU member states to urgently raise the Cyprus issue to Turkey, stressing the need to restart the talks and that the basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem cannot be changed, but also pointing out at the same time that the future of Euro-Turkish relations is directly intertwined with the developments for the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
On the sidelines of the Council`s work, the Foreign Minister had separate discussions on the Cyprus issue and the future of Euro-Turkish relations with some of his counterparts.
In particular, he discussed the Cyprus issue with the German Foreign Minister – who reportedly briefed him on the recent visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Germany, during which he conveyed to him the position of Germany that there cannot be any change based on a solution to the Cyprus problem. He also met and discussed the same issue with his counterparts of Italy, Spain and Slovenia, which takes over the Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2021.
Moreover, the EU High Representative referred to his telephone conversation with the Turkish Foreign Minister during the informal conference in Geneva and informed the Foreign Ministers that he was in constant contact with the UN Secretary General, supporting his effort and conveying the EU`s readiness to contribute to the efforts being made to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem.
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.
The 5+1 informal meeting has failed to find enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations in relation to the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
UN Secretary – General, Antonio Guterres, has said that he will convene in the near future another meeting of the 5+1, the five plus the United Nations, again with the objective to move in the direction of reaching common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start.
