FM: The aim of meeting Guterres is to create the conditions for negotiations

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, has said that the aim of the meeting he will have with the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, on July 11, in New York, is to create the conditions for the resumption of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem.

In statements after a meeting, he had in Nicosia with his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, and responding to a question about his forthcoming meeting with Guterres, the Foreign Minister said that he will present his approach as regards ways to resume the talks.

Our aim, he added, is to prepare the ground in the framework of a process that seems to be starting, with a view to create the conditions for a return to the negotiations.”

Asked what he expects from the meeting he said that he cannot predict what could come out of a meeting that has not taken place yet. “Our constant goal is the resumption of the talks and we will not stop our efforts towards this direction,” he said, expressing hope that “we will soon have the potential of returning to the negotiating table.”

He noted that Turkey has a significant effect on the final result and that they cannot be certain about the final result. “But what is certain is that we are not going to stop this effort,” he underlined

Asked if the active involvement of the EU is a realistic goal, Kombos said that the lack of any actions after the process in Crans-Montana in 2017 has created a dramatic situation on the ground that we have to tackle, creating prospects and hope. He added that this can take place only through negotiations.

“Everyone welcomes and has diachronically welcomed the active role of the EU, and I have not realized that this has changed or that there is a different opinion on this,” he added, noting that the UN maintains clearly the central role.

The Foreign Minister said he was worried about any movement that would create a fait accompli that would reverse the positive climate, which is a fundamental prerequisite for a negotiating process to begin.

“We will do our utmost to maintain this positive climate. If we have to tackle negative events, we will react with all the measures at our disposal and according to the seriousness of the issue,” he concluded.