Newly elected President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday that his immediate priorities are to form his new Cabinet, to hold contacts with the political leaders, adding also that he has a plan of how to break the deadlock over the Cyprus problem.

Speaking at his office, right after the election results were announced, Christodoulides warmly thanked all those who gathered outside saying that they were the first to believe and they proved that the best mechanism is the Cypriot people.

Asked about his first priorities, he said that from tomorrow he will hold meetings in relation to forming his Council of Ministers, saying that during the election campaign he had reached certain decisions. He said that he will also meet with leaders of the political parties of DISY and AKEL and all those who backed his candidacy.

Replying to another question as to when the new Cabinet will be announced, Christodoulides said that there may be announcements within the week.

He said that he decided on specific persons and relevant announcements will be made in due time.

The newly elected President noted that the Government of broad social acceptance was not a pre-election slogan and this will be implemented.

The Cabinet, he said, will be comprised of 50% of women and young people who never served in any Cabinet in the past. He also said that what we have promised to the Cypriot people, we will put into practice.

Christodoulides said that he hasn’t talked with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar so far but he spoke with Turkish Cypriots “from the wider civil society and the parliamentary parties” to whom he conveyed messages of solidarity and sympathy for the pain they are going through, following the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and the losses of Turkish Cypriots.

He also said that he conveyed the clear message for the need to work together to break the deadlock in the Cyprus issue noting that the current state of affairs cannot be the solution. Christodoulides said that he will use our status as an EU member state to break the impasse.

He said he had contacts with foreign leaders including the Greek Premier, the President of the Hellenic Republic, the Greek Foreign Minister and Foreign Ministers from neighboring states, the French President and the President of the European Parliament.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. The last round of talks under UN aegis took place in the summer of 2017 in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana, but failed to yield results.