Christodoulides: no time to lose in trying to break deadlock (Updated)

The president said on Thursday that he will not get involved in a blame game with Ankara over the Cyprus problem, as he met with UN officials ahead of key meetings next week.

Efforts to break the impasse on the frozen Cyprus problem negotiations got further underway as President Nikos Christodoulides discussed the matter with Colin Stewart, head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (Unficyp).

The meeting laid the groundwork for further UN contacts, with Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs on March 15.

“We cannot lose time in trying to break the deadlock, things are not easy at the moment,” said Christodoulides, emphasising the need for positive developments.

“I know the Turkish positions very well… I’m choosing not to get involved in a blame game with Ankara,” he said, reiterating that the current setting is challenging.

Christodoulides again stated his position that the EU should take a more active role in the process.

He offered that circumstances have changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the EU can have a positive role to play in Cyprus, too.

Government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said after Christodoulides’ meeting with Stewart that negotiations must always take place within the auspices of the UN, with the EU having a reinforcing role.

Letymbiotis added that Christodoulides proposed to Stewart that a common meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar could be setup as part of a dinner.

Christodoulides is also prepared to have a common meeting with Tatar next week when DiCarlo visits.

Elsewhere, CNA reported that DiCarlo is not expected to make any groundbreaking comments during her visit next week, as it is understood she will reaffirm the UN’s efforts to restart negotiations.

Also on Thursday, chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou had over a one hour talk with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Ergun Olgun. They discussed ways of building on the positive mood set after the two leaders met.