Christodoulides: we count on the EU’s support to resume Cyprus problem negotiations

President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday said Cyprus is counting on the European Union’s support to bring about a return to negotiations on the Cyprus problem.

Speaking after his meeting with EU envoy for the Cyprus problem Johannes Hahn at the presidential palace, he said he is “very glad to have you here”.

“We count on your support and the support of the European Union in order to resume negotiations that will lead us to the solution of the Cyprus problem,” he said, before stressing that “the role of the European Union is to support the United Nations’ effort, not to replace the UN effort”.

“The European Union has the tools in order to lead us to a win-win solution for all parties involved,” he said, adding that he is “grateful” for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to appoint an envoy.

This decision, he said, is a “clear indication of the interest of the EU in the solution of the Cyprus problem”.

“Cyprus is a member state of the European Union. We will continue to be a member state following a solution to the Cyprus problem, and the European Union can provide solutions on a number of issues that we are discussing at the negotiation table,” he said.

On this matter, he said that Hahn’s “active involvement” will “help us to resume negotiations”.

“We’re here to work with you, support your mission, and hopefully, having also in mind what’s going on in our neighbourhood, in our region, we need some good news – good news that will be to the benefit of Cyprus, the European Union, Turkey and the international community,” he said.

Hahn, meanwhile, said he has a “clear mandate from the European Union and the European Commission”.

He added that his role is “about supporting the UN-led process” and said that he sees himself “as a facilitator, enabling to find a solution”.

“That’s why I’m here in Cyprus for the first time in this capacity – to see, to reach out to different stakeholders, to listen to them, because it’s also about trust building, and I’m fully ready to engage because I fully agree,” he said.

“If you look at the geopolitical situation, which has a huge impact on this part of the Mediterranean, I think we should have a strong interest as the European Union to export stability and not to import instability, and this is clearly my understanding.”

He added that he hopes to “reach out to our Turkish neighbours to see what could be common ground to find a possible solution for Cyprus”.

Such a solution, he added, “could serve as a blueprint for other problems around the globe”.

“If we settle the Cyprus issue, it’s in the utmost interest of the people in Cyprus, but also for all of us, the Europeans, and our neighbours, and this is what guides me, what inspires me … I will try everything to work on a lasting solution because this situation is going on for too many years,” he said.

Later in the day, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that a “more active and substantive involvement” in the Cyprus problem on the part of the EU can “have a high added value” to the UN’s efforts to restart negotiations.

He also lamented the fact that Hahn will likely not meet Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, saying, “you understand the importance and the value that it would have, especially considering that our Turkish Cypriot compatriots … enjoy EU privileges”.

“It would certainly be good, as our common home, the EU, for a meeting which would have its own importance and its own value,” he said.

Hahn later met House president Annita Demetriou, who told him that it is “very important for us to have someone from the EU who knows and is deeply interested in the Cyprus issue”.

She also stressed the importance of the timing of his arrival, “amid increasing instability in the region”.

“Cyprus can play a constructive role as a catalyst for peacebuilding and problem solving in the Middle East,” she said.

After his meeting with Demetriou, Hahn said Tuesday’s engagements were “the beginning of a journey”.

“Every journey has an end,” he added, saying he hopes that “this journey will lead to a positive outcome.