The UK Government will be represented at the Geneva conference on Cyprus at the “appropriate” level, meaning that the presence of the heads of government of Greece and Turkey would most probably result in Theresa May attending the conference.
Asked whether the participation of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish President Erdogan would automatically mean that the British Prime Minister would also travel to Geneva, a government source told CNA: “If we reach that level of attendance, then I would imagine that the UK would also be represented by the Prime Minister.”
However, it was stressed that no final decision has yet been reached regarding who will represent the UK, one of the three guarantor powers, at the Cyprus conference. “Nothing has been finalised. We wait to see what the other two sides will decide. In any case, the UK stands ready to participate at an appropriate level,” said the same official.
In the meantime, according to the Foreign Office the details of a meeting between Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias are still under discussion. Kotzias said on Wednesday that Johnson had invited him to dinner in London ahead of the Geneva talks.
Initial reports mentioned Sunday evening as the most likely day of the meeting, as the Greek Foreign Minister will be returning from his meeting with the new UN Secretary-General and his Turkish counterpart in New York. Diplomatic sources, however, later said that the private meeting could be held in Geneva, as long as the Foreign Secretary would be part of the British delegation. “We are still working out the details,” commented the Foreign Office.
On Thursday the UK Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan concluded his two-day trip to Turkey and Greece. In his latest twitter post he described talks with Minister Kotzias in Athens as “friendly and constructive”.
The Republic of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been engaged in UN-backed talks since May 2015 with a view to reunify the island under a federal roof.
Anastasiades and Akinci have decided that the UN-sponsored talks will continue in Geneva, Switzerland. Between January 9-11 the two sides will discuss the remaining issues of the Cyprus problem and present maps concerning territorial adjustments, while on January 12 a conference on Cyprus will be convened with the participation of the guarantor powers as well as other relevant parties as needed.