Athens and Nicosia are coordinating their efforts on the handling of the Cyprus question, ahead of next month’s crucial meeting in Geneva between the UN and the leaders of the island’s two communities.

The Foreign Ministers of the two countries, who met here Saturday, assured they act in concert when it comes to dealing with the Cyprus issue, with the Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lamprinides saying the solution must be based on UN resolutions and his Cypriot counterpart Markos Kyprianou pointing out that the Geneva meeting will be pivotal for the future of the ongoing peace talks.

The Greek Foreign Minister also referred to his country’s economic plight, and appeared certain that “Greece will come out of this crisis” and problems which now seem catastrophic will be resolved.

In his opening statement at a joint press conference, after their talks, Lamprinides said Athens and Nicosia are working very hard to find a comprehensive and mutually acceptable solution in Cyprus, based on UN Security Council resolutions, which will respect the membership of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU, as an equal partner.

Cyprus, he said, and the Cyprus issue are a top priority.

“We are both fighting together for a solution with complete coordination and continuous and substantive cooperation,” he added.

The Greek Minister said his visit here, barely 24 hours after assuming his post, is not just a symbolic move but it also has political connotations. He said he came to have a full briefing on developments in the ongoing UN-led peace talks between Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Dervis Eroglu, which aim at reuniting the country, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The talks, he pointed out, continue “due to President Christofias and his government”, noting that the negotiations are very sensitive.

He referred to the cooperation with all the political parties in Cyprus in a bid to promote successfully the interests of Cyprus, Europe, the region and the Turkish Cypriots.

On the situation his country is facing, the Foreign Minister had this to say: “I can assure you that the government will resolve all the economic problems, this is not an easy path; in the past year and a half everybody has been betting that Greece will collapse but we are determined to take all the measure to lead the country out of this crisis and we shall do exactly that.”

In his remarks, Kyprianou expressed deep appreciation and gratitude to Athens for the “continuous and unwavering support” it affords Cyprus in the effort to find a political settlement and in initiatives Nicosia is undertaking on the international arena which have an important role to play in the peace effort.

He said they discussed EU matters, regional concerns, bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East and Cyprus’ EU presidency in the second half of 2012.

On the Geneva meeting, the Foreign Minister said this will be a crucially important meeting with regard to the future of the talks, adding that Greece and Cyprus will be in contact before and after the meeting.