Nicosia expects that the agreement that was reached during the lunch which the UN Secretary – General, Antonio Guterres, hosted on Monday, in New York, for Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, for the appointment of a special envoy on Cyprus by the UNSG will be implemented, Cyprus Government Spokesman, Marios Pelekanos, has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
Pelekanos said that the UNSG had said during the lunch that he would appoint a special envoy and explained the reasons why a special envoy should be appointed that have to do with the fact that the UN Security Council has to have a say on the issues discussed before it.
The Spokesman said that even though Tatar raised at the beginning objections as regards the appointment of a special envoy, he finally accepted the appointment during the discussion that took place, and therefore there was an agreement for this appointment.
“We expect what was agreed during the lunch to be implemented,” the Spokesman underlined, noting that it seems that the Turkish Cypriot side backtracked from what has been agreed.
What we are saying is whether a readout is issued or not by the UN “we expect the UNSG to proceed with the appointment of the special envoy, as it was agreed during the lunch,” Pelekanos concluded.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Numerous UN backed talks to reunite the island have failed to yield results.