FM: Meeting with UNSG productive, positive and forward-looking

Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos met with the secretary general of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres on Tuesday and discussed the appointment of a special envoy as well as the next steps to be taken.

The discussion was “productive, positive and forward-looking,” Kombos said, following the meeting which took place in New York at midnight, Cyprus time.

Following the meeting Kombos and Guterres commented on developments in the Nato summit in Vilnius and the upcoming meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Tayip Erdogan.

“I had a particularly constructive meeting with the secretary general in the context of our strong will to return to the negotiations from where they left off in Crans Montana and with the objective of a substantive discussion that will lead to a resolution of the Cyprus problem and to the reunification of our country,” the foreign minister said.

The minister added that the initiative of the Cyprus side for a more constructive role of the EU in the Cyprus talks, always under the auspices of the United Nations, was also discussed.

“We discussed […] ideas and thoughts regarding the next steps and especially regarding the issue of appointing an envoy in the next period. From our point of view, the message was clear, we are ready for the next step,” he said.

Asked whether specific names had been proposed, the minister stated “we are not yet at the stage of discussing names.”

The minister was also asked how the UNSG sees the involvement of the EU.

“The secretary general understands the usefulness of creating the Euro-Turkish dimension which can provide incentives so that we can have the other side back at the negotiation table,” Kombos said.

In response to a question on whether the minister and the UNSG had talked about developments in Vilnius and the meeting of the Greek premier with the Turkish president, the minister said that there had been a report on what exactly will be discussed among whom, and whether the Cyprus issue will be on the agenda.

“The Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting will help to take us to the next step,” he noted.

The minister had earlier held meetings with the UNSG for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. He told the Cyprus News Agency that they discussed UNFICYP and its role.

Kombos also met with the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary Di Carlo.

“It was a discussion of political content, which moved in the same direction as that of the secretary general, how we proceed, and in what ways we can go further,” he said.