Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades pledged on Wednesday resoluteness to work tirelessly, in order to find a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem, during separate meetings with the heads of EU institutions, in Brussels.
President Anastasiades informed first the European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and subsequently the European Council President Donald Tusk about the forthcoming Conference on Cyprus, due on June 28 in Switzerland, an announcement by the Presidency of the Republic says.
He described to his interlocutors both the current state of affairs in Cyprus negotiations, as well as the challenges he expects during the Conference.
The President of Cyprus reiterated the importance of recording progress in the issues of security and guarantees, in order to create favorable conditions. He further underlined the decisive role Turkey is called to play, in order to reach the progress required in the crucial chapters of security and guarantees.
Moreover, according to the readout of President Juncker’s meeting with President Anastasiades, the two men met in a cordial atmosphere, discussing the state of play in Cyprus talks and the prospects ahead of the Conference in Crans-Montana, the area where the Conference on Cyprus will resume.
Juncker also informed his interlocutor during their half-hour meeting at EC headquarters, that he sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, notifying him that the EU will be represented in the Conference by First Vice President Frans Timmermans, his Special Representative Peter Van Nuffel and Marteen Verwey, the European Commission’s Structural Reform Support Service Director General.
On Thursday at the European Council meeting, the President will inform European leaders regarding the latest developments in the efforts to reach a Cyprus settlement, both during the dinner with all leaders as well as in the course of bilateral meetings.
The Conference on Cyprus will be attended by President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, representatives of the three guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union as an observer.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island’s northern third. The two leaders have been engaged in UN-led talks since May 2015 with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.
