Doughty holds ‘constructive’ meetings in Nicosia ahead of Geneva talks

The United Kingdom’s minister of state for Europe Stephen Doughty had “very constructive meetings” on Friday in Nicosia, “particularly discussing issues relating to our bilateral relationship, the geopolitical circumstances and also, crucially, ahead of the settlement talks in Geneva in about ten days’ time.”

The enlarged meeting on March 17 and 18 in Geneva will see both Cyprus’ sides as well as representatives of the island’s three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the UK, and the United Nations, convene to discuss the Cyprus problem.

Doughty was speaking after a meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides, who referred to the strengthening of ties with the UK and his meeting in Cyprus with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which he described as “historic”.

“I am very glad we are working towards further strengthening our bilateral ties on all levels and I look forward to even greater strengthening in sectors such as defence, security, education and trade,” the president said.

He added that “we have a very strong Cypriot community in the UK, which constitutes the basis for strengthening our relationship.”

“At the same time, we fully respect the will of the British people for Brexit and we welcome the prime minister’s new approach, with whom I was in Brussels last month for the informal summit,” Christodoulides said.

The president added that “we will be holding the EU council presidency and we have some ‘hot’ topics to handle and I assure you that Cyprus will be an honest mediator.”

Doughty said he had “very constructive meetings” on Friday in Nicosia, “particularly discussing issues relating to our bilateral relationship, the geopolitical circumstances and also, crucially, ahead of the settlement talks in Geneva in about ten days’ time.”

Speaking after a meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides, Doughty said they had an “excellent meeting”, adding that he also met Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.

“It’s not my first time in Cyprus. I’m hugely proud of the deep and historical relations between the UK and Cyprus. There is a strong Cypriot community in my own hometown in Cardiff,” he said.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the meeting was “very constructive” and that bilateral relations, as well as relations between the UK and the EU, were discussed.

He said discussions focused on the upcoming Geneva meeting, where the UK will be represented by Doughty.

The president, he added, would be attending the meeting with the aim of resuming negotiations for a Cyprus settlement.

Preparations ahead of the meeting were “intensive”, Letymbiotis said, adding that “we certainly welcome with great satisfaction the UK’s commitment to reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework, as set out in UN Security Council resolutions, of a bizonal bicommunal federation with political equality.”

Doughty, who also met with House president Annita Demetriou, said “we’ve had constructive discussions today and I look forward to deepening our relationship even further.”

Demetriou on Friday told Doughty she hopes the forthcoming enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem will have a “positive outcome”.

She added that she hopes the meeting will “constitute the beginning of a substantial effort to resolve the problem”.

Additionally, she underlined her commitment “to the goal of resuming talks to achieve a solution to the Cyprus problem, in accordance with international law, the relevant United Nations security council resolutions, and the principles and values of the European Union”.

She said that she will be present in Geneva, and that “we will support any initiative that we consider to be in the right direction, without this in any way being a blank cheque for anything”.

Later in the day, Doughty met Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou, who was less optimistic about the Geneva meeting’s prospects.

“Expectations are admittedly low, but we are of the opinion that at least we as the Greek Cypriot side should make every effort and exhaust every opportunity with our initiatives, our proposals, and our approaches, so that we have some positive result,” he said.

He added that if there is no result, it will be “disastrous” for the Cyprus problem, but said he believes that the UN will “make every effort to ensure that there is something which will keep the momentum on the Cyprus problem alive and a perspective which will lead to breaking the deadlock and continuing the negotiations”.

He said his party’s position is that negotiations must resume from where they left off in Crans Montana in 2017, “preserving the achievements of those negotiations”.

“At the same time, we informed [Doughty] about Akel’s approach that at the Geneva meeting, depending of course on the developments and the climate that will exist there, a roadmap could be discussed which will lead to a discussion of the essence of the Cyprus problem,” he said.

He added, “without discussing the essence of the Cyprus problem, we cannot achieve a solution”.

He also confirmed that he will travel to Geneva for the meeting, saying, “regardless of whether we are an opposition party, we always want to be supportive and support every effort that moves in the right direction to achieve a solution”.

On the UK’s part in proceedings, he said the country “undoubtedly has a role”.

“It is a guarantor power, so for us to be able to achieve the solution of the international aspect of the Cyprus problem which includes the issues of guarantees, security, and troops, it must have an active role.

“We have also seen that the UK has for a long time been in favour of ending this system of guarantees, something that we also seek and must achieve through the solution of the Cyprus problem.”

The enlarged meeting will see both Cyprus’ sides as well as representatives of the island’s three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the UK, and the United Nations, convene to discuss the Cyprus problem.

Doughty’s visit to the island comes after UN under-secretary-general for peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo had met both Tatar and Christodoulides while in Cyprus.

She had also travelled to Athens to meet Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and to Ankara to meet Turkish deputy foreign minister and European Union affairs director Mehmet Kemal Bozay, who was deputising for Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who was on the day in Pakistan.

On Saturday, Christodoulides will travel to Athens for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in light of the Geneva meeting.

“Greece will be at the enlarged meeting, so [Mitsotakis] and I considered that it is important to have this meeting, which is why I am travelling to Athens on Saturday,” he said.

He had also outlined his vision for the meeting, saying “our goal is one: the resumption of talks from where they were interrupted in Crans Montana on the basis of the agreed framework.

“We are not discussing anything else.”