The Government Spokesman, Mr. Konstantinos Letympiotis, informed the media today, at the Presidential Palace.
In his opening statement, the Spokesperson said "The Republic of Cyprus has today given its consent to the appointment of a specific personality, proposed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to the position of envoy to explore the prospect of resuming negotiations on the Cyprus issue, within of the agreed framework and in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. We hope that a corresponding positive response regarding the appointment of the personality will be received from the other side as soon as possible. We reiterate our sincere political will and readiness to resume negotiations from where they were interrupted, with the aim of achieving a sustainable and final settlement of the Cyprus issue. Our will to resolve with a bi-zonal bi-communal federation solution with political equality remains strong.
In this context and in view of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Athens tomorrow for the meeting of the Supreme Council of Cooperation Greece-Turkey, we note that the improvement of Greece-Turkey relations is something we value as a positive development, intertwined with the Cyprus issue, since this improvement may have a positive impact on the Cyprus issue as well. Athens and Nicosia, in coordination, are working closely together, so as to exhaust every possibility of significant progress in the Cyprus issue.
In relation to the notice of expression of interest concerning the Board of Directors of the Public Natural Gas Company (DEFA), it is announced that the expression of interest period is extended until Monday, December 11 at 2 pm.
It is recalled that the declaration of interest is posted at gnomodotiko.gov.cy.
Tomorrow, Thursday, December 7, the President of the Republic will hold a meeting with the Independent Electricity Transmission Operator of Greece (ADMIE), in the presence of the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Mr. Giorgos Papanastasiou.
ADMIE, after reaching a strategic agreement with Euroasia Interconnector, was designated as the Implementing Agency for the Electric Interconnection project between Cyprus, Greece and Israel. This emblematic project, which will remove the electrical isolation of Cyprus and open a new energy avenue in the Eastern Mediterranean, has secured funding of 657 million euros from European Union funds, from the Connecting Europe Facility and is a European Project of Common Interest (PCI). The completion of the project will mark the electrical interconnection of Cyprus, the last non-interconnected member state of the European Union, with the European transmission system, ensuring at the same time the energy shielding of the island and the reduction of electricity costs.
The project is gathering interest in attracting investment from investment funds of states in the region."