President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday “where there’s a will, there’s a way” as the expanded informal five-party meeting got underway at the UN building in Geneva.

The expanded conference, which commenced at 1pm Cyprus time, includes the two Cypriot sides and high-level representation from the three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and the UK. An EU representative is following from the sidelines.

Earlier Tuesday, the president had a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to which he said he had brought “specific proposals and suggestions” for initiatives he thought could contribute to efforts to restart Cyprus negotiations.

On his way to the wider meeting, he told reporters: “Where there is a will, there’s a way” as he entered the Palais des Nations building where the conference is being held.

The president said he was “ready”.

Guterres was the first to arrive at the building and greeted media representatives, according to the Cyprus News Agency correspondent in Geneva.

He was accompanied by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Rosemary DiCarlo and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus Colin Stewart.

He was followed by British Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty with the British High Commissioner to Cyprus Michael Tatham.

Then Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis arrived followed by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and Christodoulides.

The plenary session will be closed. Christodoulides is expected to brief the National Council immediately afterwards.

In a brief statement after the president’s bilateral meeting with Guterres and prior to the expanded conference, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Christodoulides had imparted his commitment to new talks.

“President Christodoulides informed the Secretary-General that he is coming with specific proposals and suggestions for initiatives that can contribute to his effort to restart negotiations,” Letymbiotis said.

Guterres had already held bilateral meetings Tuesday morning with Tatar, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Doughty and Gerapetritis.

Letymbiotis said that during the meeting between Guterres and Christodoulides, the latter had thanked the Secretary-General for his continued personal commitment to the resumption of negotiations and for convening the multilateral meeting.

“He also reiterated the readiness of the Republic of Cyprus to resume negotiations from the point where they were interrupted in 2017,” the statement said, adding that the president in this context had underlined the need to adhere to UN resolutions and the UN framework for a Cyprus solution “which constitutes the foundation of the effort for the reunification of Cyprus and the achievement of lasting peace”.

Christodoulides had also highlighted the “catalytic contribution” that the EU could make, the spokesman said, especially in light of the joint letter sent to Guterres by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Antonio Costa.