Adamos Adamou, the Cyprus Parliament President expressed regret over the Turkish side’s views in favour of the division of the island ahead of the informal 5+1 meeting on Cyprus, scheduled for April 27 – 29, noting that such positions cannot be accepted.

Adamou’s remarks were made during a meeting with the Ambassador of Georgia to Cyprus, Temur Kekelidze.

According to a press release issued by the House of Representatives, referring to the developments the Cyprus problem and the informal 5+1 meeting convened by the UN Chief, Adamou expressed disappointment over the positions in favour of division expressed by the Turkish side.

Such positions, he said, are contrary to the UN relevant resolutions and deviate from the agreed framework for a solution to the Cyprus problem and therefore cannot be accepted.

Adamou also criticised the Turkish side’s mounting provocations, including the opening of Varosha, a part of Famagusta which has been fenced-off since the 1974 Turkish invasion, stating that such actions undermine the efforts for the resumption of substantive talks for a Cyprus settlement.

On his part, Kekelidze reaffirmed his country support to the efforts to bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem.

According to the press release, both sides underlined the very good relations connecting Cyprus and Georgia, based on common religious and cultural ties and expressed both countries and their Parliament’s will to further strengthen their cooperation via increased inter-parliamentary exchanges, when the conditions permit it.

Adamou and the Georgian diplomat also exchanged views on the situation concerning the Covid-19 pandemic and the evolution of the vaccination programme in the two countries.

The UN announced on February 24, that an informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus issue will take place 27-29 April, to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem, within a foreseeable horizon.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.