Going to Geneva meeting with realism and awareness, Cypriot Spokesperson says

Going to Geneva meeting with realism and awareness, Spokesperson says
The Greek Cypriot side is approaching the informal multilateral conference on Cyprus to he held in Geneva next week, being aware of the statements from the Turkish Cypriot side, and having made the necessary and intensive groundwork and preparation, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Presidential Palace, at the end of this week’s Cabinet meeting, the Spokesperson was asked about the Geneva conference, in light of the statements from the Turkish Cypriot side, and said that “our side is mainly going with the understanding that a multilateral conference under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General himself has a very high value and significance,” especially in a difficult period, and is convened “as a result of our persistent efforts”. He reminded that the effort is to move the Cyprus issue out of a period of stagnation in recent years.

The Letymbiotis emphasised that the fact that the UN Secretary-General himself, taking into account international and regional developments in a tumultuous international field, has his attention focused on the Cyprus issue, proves that he remains committed to his efforts to resume negotiations. “Efforts that we will certainly always support within the framework set by the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” he added.

Letymbiotis said our side has been listening to the recent public statements from the other side and noted “we are approaching Geneva with full awareness of the public statements and with realism, but we also have carried out the necessary, intensive preparatory work on our part, in coordination, of course, with the Greek Government”, and referred to the meeting between the President of the Republic and the Greek Prime Minister on Monday.

He also said that the Greek Cypriot side is always aware that it is through dialogue, which it continues to pursue, that any positive progress on the Cyprus issue can be achieved.

Letymbiotis emphasised that the goal of this Geneva conference cannot be anything other than the resumption of negotiations from the point they were interrupted. “What we want to achieve is to preserve and further intensify the momentum that was achieved after our own efforts, following the appointment of (Maria Angela) Holguin as the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General after the dinner on October 15, which certainly led to this multilateral conference.”

Asked whether the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s demands are red lines for the Greek Cypriot side, Letymbiotis clarified that they are not red lines for our side, but they are the red lines of the international community.

“The entire international community, the United Nations Security Council, has repeatedly defined the agreed framework, which is none other than a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality. With this commitment, we have stated unequivocally, categorically, that we do not agree with anything else outside the agreed framework,” he noted.

Asked whether yesterday’s communication between the Greek Cypriot Negotiator Menelaos Menelaou and the UN Assistant Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo was part of the preparation for Geneva, the Spokesperson said that “obviously it is part of the ongoing coordination we have with the United Nations Secretariat, in view of the convening of the expanded conference and in relation to the two-day process, on the 17th and 18th of March, and as part of our own effort to contribute as much as possible to the United Nations’ efforts for a positive outcome of this multilateral”.

The Spokesperson also said that those who will accompany the President of the Republic in the plenary session of the Geneva conference on March 18 will be determined in the coming days and communicated to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, CNA sources said that Menelaou and the Turkish Cypriot negotiator, Gunes Onar, will meet on Thursday ahead of the Geneva conference.

The sources said that the two already talked to DiCarlo on Tuesday to prepare the ground for Geneva.

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 due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced an expanded meeting, in Geneva, on March 17 and 18, to exchange views with the Cyprus President and the Turkish Cypriot leader on ways of achieving progress on the Cyprus issue, following their informal dinner on October 15, 2024, in New York. Representatives from Greece, Turkey and the UK are also expected to attend the meeting.