The Greek Cypriot side takes away from the talks in New York the commitment and determination of the UN Secretary-General to exhaust every avenue right up until the last day of his term, negotiator Menelaos Menelaou told CNA, adding that the goal remains to bring the process to the convening of an expanded meeting, the purpose of which is to reach a decision on resuming the talks. He also spoke of a “pattern of obstruction aimed at hindering efforts to accelerate the steps that need to be taken,” referring to the fact that a trilateral meeting in New York did not take place.
Meanwhile, according to information provided to CNA by government sources, the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, intends to convene a meeting of the National Council next Wednesday to brief its members and discuss the latest developments in the Cyprus issue.
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Mr. Menelaou said in his statements to CNA that preparatory work is continuing, in which “significant steps have been taken,” while there is still room for further progress. However, he noted that one of the obstacles being faced is the “delaying tactics” of the Turkish Cypriot side.
Mr. Menelaou said that the goal is for the process to move forward “as soon as possible,” noting that “it should have moved forward some time ago.”
“We believe the conditions are in place. So is the Secretary-General’s determination. The groundwork that needs to be completed has progressed to a very significant degree,” he said.
As he said, “It is crucial to be able to take the next step, to get a revitalized negotiation process back on track, while fully preserving the achievements of the talks up to the last day of the previous effort, which concluded in the summer of 2017 in Crans-Montana.”
Referring to the Secretary-General’s approach to the Cyprus issue, Mr. Menelaou said that it is “a comprehensive approach that encompasses all aspects,” as set forth in the six points he shared in the summer of 2017 in Crans-Montana.
The six points, he added, are indispensable for a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, which, as he said, “must naturally include all aspects, all the chapters that make up the Cyprus problem.”
When asked about the fact that a trilateral meeting did not take place in New York, Mr. Menelaou noted that the Greek Cypriot side and the United Nations made efforts right up until the last minute to make this possible.
He stated that the Greek Cypriot side had expressed its willingness to extend its stay in New York; however, as he said, “unfortunately, this effort, too, ran up against this broader pattern we are facing from the Turkish side.”
This, he added, is “a pattern of obstructing efforts to accelerate the steps that need to be taken.”
