In call with Guterres, Christodoulides calls to stick to Pyla agreement

President Nikos Christodoulides spoke on the phone with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday evening, discussing the appointment of a Cyprus envoy, the situation in Pyla and the proposed Cyprus humanitarian corridor to Gaza.

According to Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the president thanked Guterres for the efforts he was making to re-start Cyprus talks as well as his stated commitment to a solution on the basis of an agreed framework and the need to appoint an envoy as soon as possible “who will explore the prospects of resuming the talks”.

“The president also pointed out that any objections raised about the non-appointment of an envoy, have no substance, and should not prevent such a development,” Letymbiotis said.

In addition, Christodoulides expressed the need for the immediate implementation of what has been agreed for Pyla and the implementation of all the provisions of the mutual understanding reached with the UN Peacekeeping Force last month.

The president said on Saturday that the Turkish Cypriot side had effectively backed away from the deal and that the Greek Cypriot side was in constant contact with Unficyp to get it back on track.

Regarding Cyprus’ efforts to create a maritime corridor for the uninterrupted provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Christodoulides, following the letter he sent to Guterres on November 7, as well as discussions he had in Paris with the head of the UN Palestinian aid agency Unrwa Philip Lazzarini, briefed the UNSG on the technical consultations on the matter and in particular about the results from the meetings at the level of technocrats between Cyprus and Israel.

Finally, Christodoulides informed the UN Secretary General of the readiness of Cyprus to host a regional operational centre for coordinating the actions of the international community, with regard to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on the island.