Anastasiades and Tatar dinner set for January

A dinner between President Nicos Anastasiades and Ersin Tatar is scheduled to take place at the end of January as Anastasiades’ term in power comes to a close and in light of the ongoing stalemate between the two sides in reunification talks, according to reports by the Cyprus News Agency on Friday.

According to the same report, the negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side, Menelaos Menelaou, and Tatar’s Special Representative, Ergun Olgun, are expected to have their last meeting later this year.

It has also been reported that the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Colin Stewart, will travel to New York in January for Antonio Guterres’ reports on his good offices mission and Unficyp, however no separate meetings between Stewart and the leaders of the two communities are scheduled before his departure from the island next Thursday for the Christmas holidays.

The Guterres reports are expected to be given to the permanent members of the Security Council in the first week of January, while the resolution to renew Unficyp’s mandate will be adopted by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, on Monday (December 11), government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said the government feels it is important to use the remaining period until the elections in Turkey next year to prepare the right ground “so that we can take the next step immediately after.”

He added that the Greek Cypriot side believes, that although the decision is up to Guterres, the appointment of a UN envoy for Cyprus would ensure better preparation for future negotiations

For his part, Stewart on December 7 said that despite the challenges, there is “great potential” for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

The head of the peacekeeping force was speaking during a reception he hosted at Ledra Palace to mark the end of the year.

The event brought together Anastasiades and Tatar for the first time in seven months.