While awaiting the return of the UN Secretary-General from his scheduled trip to the Philippines, Nicosia is working to set the date and location of the new Trilateral Meeting between António Guterres, Nikos Christodoulides, and Tufan Erhurman.
In remarks made on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit taking place in Dublin, the President of the Republic expressed optimism about the next steps in the Cyprus issue and explained that the goal of the Trilateral Meeting will be to issue announcements regarding further positive developments, both regarding confidence-building measures and the methodology and working procedures for the process of resuming talks. At the same time, he noted that the aim is to announce a specific date for a new Informal Enlarged Conference, so that talks can resume where they left off in Crans-Montana.
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“I am optimistic,” he said, noting that he is in constant contact with the United Nations Secretary-General and that he is expected to speak with him both before and after the conclusion of his visit to Turkey.
Euro-Turkish Relations Linked to the Cyprus Issue
At the same time, Nikos Christodoulides directly linked any positive developments in EU-Turkey relations to progress on the Cyprus issue. As he noted, Nicosia wishes to see positive developments in EU-Turkey relations; however, these can only materialize if there is progress on the Cyprus issue and not through more general initiatives.
The President emphasized that for this reason, he spoke by phone yesterday with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and the Commission’s Special Representative on the Cyprus issue, Raffaele Fito, following his discussion with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Antalya, emphasized that the direction regarding this specific issue is clear.
GSI surveys to proceed as planned despite Turkish provocations
Regarding the Turkish reaction to the surveys for the Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnection, Nikos Christodoulides assured that work is proceeding as normal.
As he noted, he spoke yesterday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, noting that, aside from some verbal rhetoric on Turkey’s part, the seabed surveys are continuing uninterrupted.
“We are monitoring the situation constantly,” he said, adding that there is coordination with France and Greece, while the issue was also discussed with the President of the European Commission, as it directly concerns the European Union itself.
He also noted that this is a project of common European interest, for which the EU has approved funding of 657 million euros, without ruling out further financial support.
Two Approaches to EU Representation in the Ukraine Talks
When asked about the European Union’s representation in the talks on Ukraine, the President of the Republic stated that European leaders will be briefed on the latest developments in the ongoing discussions in Abu Dhabi, expressing his hope for positive results.
He noted that the issue of European representation will also be discussed at the informal European Council, although no final decision is expected.
As he explained, there are two different approaches: The first argues that the EU should be represented by its institutions, namely the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, or the High Representative. The second view holds that there should be a mixed representation model, involving both the European institutions and specific member states.
Regarding the position of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides stated that Nicosia has no issue with either approach, though he noted that the participation of member states would add value to the European presence in the consultations.
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