Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, briefed on Thursday the members of the negotiating team of the Greek Cypriot side about developments in the Cyprus problem and the 5+1 informal meeting which the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, intends to convene.

Government Spokesman, Kyriakos Koushos, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the President briefed the members of the negotiating team that their knowledge, expertise and experience will be used during the negotiating process on the Cyprus problem.

He went on to say that the President briefed the members of the negotiating team about the developments concerning the informal meeting, the latest developments on the Cyprus problem and the contacts he has had. “The negotiating team was fully updated on all issues concerning the Cyprus problem,” he added.

Replying to questions, Koushos said that this is the negotiating team that attended the negotiations that took place in Crans-Montana and that the negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side, Andreas Mavroyiannis, also attended the meeting.

Moreover he said that a team of academics and legal experts has been set up to advise the President, the negotiator and the negotiating team on certain legal issues that come up.

Asked if the negotiating team will accompany President Anastasiades to the informal conference on Cyprus, Koushos said that the President has not decided if the members of the negotiating team will have to be present.

“If there are no negotiations then this will probably not be needed,” he added.

Asked if any other meetings have been arranged, the Government Spokesman said that “this will happen according to the needs. We don`t even have a date for the informal meeting,” he noted.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The latest UN backed round of talks took place in 2017, in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, but failed to yield any results.