President Nikos Christodoulides reiterated on Monday, during a meeting with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, that he was ready for a meeting at any time, in the context of efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.
Speaking after the meeting at UN headquarters in New York, Christodoulides said “we had a very constructive discussion.”
He said Guterres thanked Cyprus for its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Amalthea corridor, “an initiative which is still in effect.”
“We discussed the prospects of resuming negotiations and I thanked the secretary-general, who is politically committed, not only to the resumption of talks, but to the solution of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the agreed-on framework,” Christodoulides said.
The president referred to everything the government has done in the 18 months since its election, “through specific actions and not wishes, with which we have proved our political will, our readiness to resume talks, utilising the negotiating acquis.”
“I am at the disposal of the secretary-general at any time, anywhere, to meet with both the Turkish Cypriot leader and the Turkish delegation,” the president said.
He added that the UN chief “has undertaken an effort in this direction for some time now, which I hope will be fruitful.”
“I reiterate, on our side we are ready at any time,” he said.
Asked if anything would take place in October, Christodoulides said “at any time and anywhere, this was the message to the secretary-general.”
“Let us leave the secretary-general to do his work. I understand, as he has informed us, that there will be a meeting with Mr Erdogan tomorrow (Tuesday) in the framework of the meetings he is having and let us hope that there are some positive results regarding this meeting,” Christodoulides said.
Asked about his meetings in New York, such as with the US deputy national security adviser scheduled for Tuesday, Christodoulides said it would focus on bilateral relations and the Cyprus problem, as well as the US interest in participating in the Great Sea Interconnector.
“We expect that in early 2025 there will be some positive announcements regarding our bilateral relations, which will prove the strategic choice to strengthen our relations, but at the same time about the electric grid connection. It is an issue that will also be on the agenda of tomorrow’s (Tuesday) trilateral meeting with the Greek Prime Minister and the French President,” Christodoulides added.
