UN Secretary-General`s special envoy on Cyprus, Jane Holl Lute, is expected to visit Cyprus during the last ten days of June, while Nicosia is preparing for the forthcoming European Council, which will discuss, among others, the issue of EU-Turkey relations.

CNA has learned that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, is expected to have telephone conversations with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ahead of the EU Summit that will take place in Brussels on June 24-25.

The date of Lute`s visit to Nicosia is expected to be finalised soon, taking into consideration that President Anastasiades will leave Cyprus for Brussels on June 23 and will return on June 26, while he will also fly to Paris to attend and address, at the invitation of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Generation Equality Forum that will take place in the French capital from 30 June to 2 July. Lute has already held contacts in May with Greece, Turkey, the UK and the EU.

President Anastasiades held on the sidelines of the European Council, at the end of May, a meeting with the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, to whom he stressed, according to Government Spokesman, Kyriacos Koushos, that the positive attitude of Cyprus at the forthcoming European Council, during which Euro-Turkey relations will be discussed, will depend on Turkey`s behaviour as regards the Cyprus issue and Varosha, and on whether Ankara refrains from provocative actions at sea and on land and fulfills its contractual obligations towards the EU and all its member states.

Moreover, Anastasiades underlined that without a positive attitude from the Turkish side it would be impossible to offer a positive agenda to Turkey in the Euro-Turkish relations.

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.

A 5+1 Informal Meeting that took place in Geneva, on April 27-29, failed to find enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations in relation to the settlement of the Cyprus problem.

UN Secretary – General, Antonio Guterres, has said that he will convene in the near future another meeting of the 5+1, the five plus the United Nations, again with the objective to move in the direction of reaching common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start.