The high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly is a major diplomatic event, Government Spokesperson Mr. Konstantinos Letympiotis said today.
Speaking to reporters in New York, the Spokesperson, referring to the meetings that the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides will have during his stay in New York, where he is attending the 81st UN General Assembly, said that “The UN High-Level Week is the pinnacle of diplomacy for the year; and of course we are here with a focus on the Cyprus issue and the efforts the President of the Republic is making to resume substantive negotiations.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
This year, the theme of the 81st UN General Assembly is the restoration of trust, as well as the protection and promotion of multilateralism, issues and principles that the Republic of Cyprus has been upholding, defending, promoting, and advocating for over the past 52 years.
Today, September 20, marks the anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus’s admission in 1960 as a full member of the UN, joining this great family, the UN family, which seeks to convey its messages through the defense and promotion of international law.
Certainly, the meeting between the President of the Republic and the UN Secretary-General is a pivotal one, in addition to the many bilateral meetings he will have this week with heads of state and government, institutional partners, and leading energy giants.
SEE ALSO: Christodoulides’s crucial meetings in New York and his address to the UN General Assembly
The meeting with the Secretary-General is scheduled for September 24 and will be preceded by the President’s meeting with Ms. Olgin, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus. We are arriving after a period of regular contacts and meetings, and as the President of the Republic has already made clear, he is coming with ideas, proposals, and recommendations, both regarding the issue of the MOEs and concerning the methodology and substance of the Cyprus issue.
Our goal remains unchanged: how we can contribute, to the best of our ability, to making it possible to convene an expanded meeting, in line with the goal set by the UN Secretary-General. A successful expanded meeting that will serve as a substantial springboard for the resumption of substantive negotiations from the point where they were suspended.
Furthermore, a pivotal diplomatic moment will be the day the President of the Republic addresses the UN General Assembly, where, before the international community, we will convey our own messages regarding our self-evident effort to make Cyprus a normal, modern European state, free of anachronistic guarantees and occupying armies—a Cyprus that will continue to demonstrate its great importance and value in the Eastern Mediterranean region.”
When asked whether the possibility of a trilateral meeting with either the UN Secretary-General or Ms. Olgin had been discussed, the Spokesperson said that “So far, at least, we have not discussed the possibility of a joint meeting with either the UN Secretary-General or his personal envoy. Of course, such a possibility is something we are considering and view positively; President Christodoulides himself has said that if the UN Secretary-General’s schedule permits, certainly following the high-level week, we are considering the possibility of extending our stay in New York precisely to make this meeting possible. Ms. Olgin is coming to New York next Tuesday, the day she is scheduled to meet with President Christodoulides.”
When asked when Ms. Olgin would meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader, the Spokesperson said that, based on the information he has, “it will be next Wednesday, the day after her meeting with the President of the Republic.”
He added that regarding the possibility of a trilateral meeting, “we will wait to hear from her, and the meeting with the UN Secretary-General will carry much greater weight, as it will involve a joint assessment, an assessment of the steps taken to date, but, more importantly, of the steps that can be taken in the near future.”
When asked whether the document on the meetings had been prepared, the Spokesperson said that “this is something about which we, too, are waiting to be briefed by Ms. Olgin. It is known that the UN has begun compiling the document; we had expected this update during Ms. Olgin’s visit to Cyprus, which was scheduled for September but was postponed for personal reasons. This will be part of the discussion next Tuesday between the President of the Republic and Ms. Olgin.”
