Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides has said that the UN has given the appropriate assurances concerning next week’s dinner, hosted by the UN, for Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglou.
In a written statement, Stylianides said that due to the absence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon abroad, Director of the SG’s office Susana Malcorra had a meeting on Thursday evening with the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the UN, during which he conveyed to him a message from the Secretary General in relation to a letter Anastasiades had sent him, concerning the dinner, set for May 30.
During the meeting, Malcorra gave on behalf of the Secretary General, as a follow up to the President’s letter on May 17, the appropriate assurances in relation to the dinner on May 30th, the Spokesman noted.
President Anastasiades’ position, as outlined in his letter to the Secretary General, is that his meeting with Eroglu during the dinner will be a social event.
The UN has hosted a series of round of peace talks in the past decades with a view to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite Cyprus, divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.
This will be the first encounter between President Anastasiades and Eroglu, since Anastasiades’ election in February.