We are fully prepared for all scenarios and we are going to the Cyprus meeting in Geneva with one specific goal, the resumption of negotiations from where they left off in Crans Montana, Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides said Wednesday, during a cross-channel interview with TV stations, on the occasion of the completion of two years since he assumed office.
Replying to questions, he said that whether we will achieve this goal also depends on the Turkish side and stressed that the starting point of the meeting is the agreed framework on the Cyprus issue.
Christodoulides said that if we do not achieve the goal of resuming the talks “we have a second, we have a third, we have a fourth goal” something that he discussed, as he said, the previous evening with the UN Secretary General during a long conversation that took place upon the initiative of Christodoulides in the context of the preparation ahead of the Geneva meeting, that will take place next week.
He also said that he had a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council and will have one tomorrow with the Polish Prime Minister, who was in Turkey today, while he is in contact with the President of the European Commission and has also visited Athens.
Christodoulides also said that the EU has conveyed to the UN its desire to be present at the negotiating table, while regarding the appointment of a personality from the EU side, he said that we should wait for the developments in the coming days.
“I am going to Geneva and the UN Secretary General is going to Geneva to achieve a result and we know what this is and what the priority is”, he stressed.
He also said that after Geneva, the UN Secretary-General and himself will take part together in the European Council to discuss the positions of the EU and the UN on all issues of concern to the international community, including the Cyprus problem, stressing that “this is also important, especially in relation to the content of the solution to the Cyprus problem.”
Christodoulides pointed out the UN’s leading role on the Cyprus issue and stressed that as a result, the UNSG is the first to ensure that any discussion cannot deviate from the UN framework.
Moreover, he made it clear that “anything that goes beyond the agreed framework I will not even accept to discuss it.”
He said that he is ready to discuss all six points of the Guterres framework from 2017 during talks in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana, and that he has positions on all six points. He said that in Crans Montana, for the first time, the convergences that had been achieved were better than previous efforts made for the Cyprus problem and the main reason for this was the accession of Cyprus to the EU.
( Source: CNA )
