House President Annita Demetriou on Wednesday said that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ announcement of his intention to hold a new enlarged meeting “keeps the process and the prospect of resuming substantive negotiations open”.

Guterres had announced his intention to hold a new enlarged meeting following a tripartite meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.

Demetriou said of this announcement that “while there were no developments which could mark a substantive step forward and a date was not set for an enlarged five-plus-one meeting, it is important that the convergences already achieved continue to form the next steps”.

“The current juncture demands seriousness, responsibility and, above all, focus, so as to achieve the necessary progress which the secretary-general expects,” she said.

She added that her party, Disy, will “continue to contribute consistently and in a constructive spirit to every genuine effort which keeps open the prospect of resuming substantive negotiations”.

These negotiations, she said, must be held “within the agreed United Nations framework and in line with the principles and values of the European Union”.

Guterres had earlier announced plans for a new enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem to be convened “after adequate progress” is achieved on the matters of confidence-building measures, the meeting’s methodology and the substance of the talks.

He also said that his envoy Maria Angela Holguin has been “working with the parties” and “building on past UN efforts”, while also working based on “what she has heard directly from Cypriots themselves”.

Regarding his contacts on the island, he said that he “also had the opportunity to hear from many Cypriots”, and that “their message was clear: they want progress”.

“They want to see their leaders make compromises and to walk that last mile towards a settlement of the Cyprus issue. They want a future in which this island is defined not by division, but by cooperation, opportunity and peace. That was also the spirit of my frank and constructive discussions with the two leaders, both separately and together,” he said.

He added that “both Erhurman and Christodoulides assured me of their determination to continue to work in earnest” with Holguin, and said that prior to the convening of an enlarged meeting, “we will work in consultation with the two sides and the guarantors, to create the conditions for the meeting’s success”.