The date of the informal meeting in New York has been set, which will be immediately after the first fortnight of July, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, indicating that official announcements from the UN are expected.
He also said that the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, will come to Cyprus before the new expanded meeting "and we are working so that there is a positive outcome."
In statements to journalists arriving at noon at the offices of the Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council, and asked about the dates of the informal meeting on the Cyprus issue, President Christodoulides said that the dates have been agreed and that the United Nations will make relevant announcements.
"It will be right after the first fortnight (of July)," he said.
In response to a journalist's comment that it is therefore July 16-18, the President said that he did not mention dates. "I said to wait for the United Nations. Dates have been set, agreed upon. The United Nations will make relevant announcements," he said.
He said that what matters are Ms. Holguin's contacts in London and Brussels, including with the President of the European Council, "something we discussed in Brussels as well." He said that Ms. Holguin will come to Cyprus before the new expanded meeting "and we are working so that there is a positive result."
Asked what is expected from the informal New York summit, given that the election campaign has begun in the occupied territories, and noting that there is no tangible indication of progress in relation to the roadblocks, demining and the solar park, the President stated that the conduct of the electoral process in the occupied territories "is a inhibiting factor, we must tell things as they are."
He also mentioned that he chooses not to respond to the daily statements of Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, "which I have been seeing lately as a daily attack against me personally," because, as he said, they are part of the pre-election campaign.
"From there, the UN Secretary-General, from the moment he decides to hold an expanded meeting, certainly has some thoughts on how this process will proceed further. So I consider it important, without downplaying, without underestimating what you have mentioned above with the electoral process in the occupied territories," he said.
When asked if the Special Envoy of the President of the Commission for Cyprus, Johannes Hahn, will ultimately have a seat at the table in New York, he replied, "Let's wait and see. We are not there yet." He noted that Mr. Hahn will meet with Ms. Holguin, "they will talk, he will see the President of the European Council."
He recalled the letter from the President of the Commission and the President of the European Council before the first enlarged meeting in Geneva and said that "it is a reference document, if you will, on how the European Union is truly interested in the Cyprus issue - it subsequently demonstrated this with the appointment - but also setting the framework for a possible solution to the Cyprus issue."
Asked about Mr. Khan's meetings, and whether he had contacts with Ankara, President Christodoulides said that Mr. Khan "will not make announcements every day, who he is talking to and who he is seeing."
"He knows very well what he will do. He is in direct contact with the President of the Commission, he has a specific subject that he is focusing on, and through our own approach regarding Euro-Turkish relations," he added.
Referring also to Turkey's interest in the European Union, he said that "this was one of the key messages that the President of Turkey conveyed to the French President."
He reminded that it was the Turkish President who made this meeting public, "and in fact it was the Turkish President who made reference during the flight to the fact that the Cyprus issue was also discussed. There is an interest, at least on a verbal level, in public statements, we will see in practice."
In this context, of Euro-Turkish, it is also a key aspect of Mr. Khan's work, which he knows due to his previous qualifications, President Christodoulides finally said.
Source: KYPE
