The UN Secretary-General remains committed to his efforts to hold a joint meeting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides on the Cyprus issue, in his presence, as can be seen from the meeting that Antonio Guterres had on Monday with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulidis, at the headquarters of the international organization, in New York.
Diplomatic sources, speaking to KYPE, said that with regard to any developments regarding the setting of the date of the meeting, the Secretary General considers his meeting with Turkish President Erdogan to be important.
It is pointed out that, on the one hand, the meeting with Erdoğan is important because it recognizes the reason why it has not been possible so far to hold the meeting, either in the presence of the Secretary General, or in the presence of his personal envoy, Maria Ángela Holguín Cuellar, and on the other hand, because it is confirmed, on the other hand once, that it belongs to Turkey and not to Turkish leader Ersin Tatar.
"The Secretary General recognizes the intention of our side to resume negotiations as well as the initiatives taken to create a positive climate, such as for example the Conclusions of the European Council, the consent for the participation of the Turkish Foreign Minister in an informal SEY, the 14 unilateral measures to Turkish Cypriots, as well as the acceptance in principle of all the dates that have been proposed to us for the realization of this meeting" state diplomatic sources.
The same sources emphasized that "the President of the Republic once again reiterated his readiness to resume the negotiations from the point where they were interrupted and the advance acceptance of any date deemed suitable by the Secretary General for holding a joint meeting".
According to the same sources, the meeting on Monday began with the UN Secretary-General highlighting the role of the Republic of Cyprus and President Christodoulides in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and congratulating the Republic of Cyprus for the "Amalthia" initiative and for the role it played. The same sources point out that it is extremely important that the Secretary General recognizes the role and value of the maritime humanitarian corridor and also of the Republic of Cyprus in the region.
Regarding the Middle East, diplomatic sources state that the President of the Republic and the UN Secretary General discussed the developments in the region and the possibility of an escalation of the crisis, a possibility that both believe should be avoided.
President Christodoulidis informed the Secretary General about the telephone communications he had with Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu and Prime Minister of Lebanon Mikati, as well as about the meeting he had earlier on Monday with King Abdullah of Jordan. He also informed the Secretary General about the measures taken by the Republic of Cyprus, in the unlikely event, as stated, that the "HESTIA" plan needs to be activated and informed that all the planned actions have been taken to implement the "HESTIA" plan with organized removals of its citizens EU and third countries through the Republic of Cyprus and after their transfer to destination countries, diplomatic sources note.
