The German Chancellor and the French President clearly agree of the position of the Republic of Cyprus on the issue of security and guarantees issues, said Government Spokesperson Nikos Christodoulides.

In response to a question after the first part of the Summit, Christodoulides said that in the two meetings Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades had earlier today “there were clear positions that are summarized in the fact that in 2017 we cannot talk about guarantees from third countries or the military occupation of an EU member state. ”

“The position was clear, something that also emerges from the previous contacts of the President of the Republic, but this is also the official position that dominates at European level. We can say more tomorrow on the matter after the President briefs his counterparts,” he noted.

According to Nikos Christodoulides, the President of the Republic had two very important meetings with the new French President and the Chancellor of Germany. He informed the French President “about the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, the forthcoming Conference on Cyprus in Switzerland and expressed the wish that the security and guarantees chapter should finally be discussed and a result achieved that is fully in line with the status of Cyprus as an EU Member State. ”

As the spokesman said, “there was an exchange of views on EU-Turkey relations and on our bilateral relations, with a special emphasis on military and energy cooperation.”

“Within this framework, the Foreign Minister will travel to Paris on Monday to meet with his counterpart the French Foreign Minister with the French President`s diplomatic adviser as well as other contacts concerning the strengthening of our bilateral relations” noted Nikos Christodoulides.

The President also discussed the developments in the Cyprus issue with the Chancellor of Germany, “the President briefed on the issues of security and guarantees and exchanged views on Euro-Turkish relations as well as on our bilateral relations.”

“There is growing interest in developments in the region and it was agreed that this contact with both the French President and the Chancellor of Germany will continue in the immediate future,” he said.

“The President tonight will inform his counterparts about developments in the Cyprus issue at the level of the 27 Member States and a debate will be held at the request of some Member States on developments in Turkey”, Christodoulides added.

The chapter on security and guarantees will be the focus of a Conference on Cyprus, to take place on June 28 in Crans Montana, Switzerland, with the participation of President Anastasiades, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and Cyprus’ three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and the UK.

The most recent round of UN-led peace talks has been underway since May 2015 with a view to finding a negotiated settlement to reunite the country, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

Responding to a further question on common defence matters in the EU, as contained in the conclusions of the Summit, Christodoulides stated that “the Republic of Cyprus believes that the EU should develop its own powers, it must have all the necessary means to be able to respond to modern threats, which focus on many issues, not only traditional threats we have known so far, but also asymmetric threats and terrorism”.

“Cyprus, which is in a volatile area of the Eastern Mediterranean, wishes to advance through this cooperation very specific decisions and measures”, he concluded.