President Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday that the coming period would be “particularly critical” for the Cyprus issue, with intensive consultations aimed at securing a broader conference convened by the UN Secretary-General and announcing the resumption of negotiations.

According the director of the press office of the president, Victor Papadopoulos, Christodoulides briefed a delegation from the Famagusta municipality and a group of foreign officials on the latest developments in the Cyprus problem during a meeting at the presidential palace.

The foreign officials are visiting Cyprus as guests of the Famagusta municipality as part of events marking and condemning the continued Turkish occupation.

During the meeting, the president referred to what he described as the “positive results” of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent visit to Cyprus.

He also informed the delegation about his meeting earlier on Friday with the European Union’s special envoy for the Cyprus issue, Raffaele Fitto.

Christodoulides stressed the importance of the EU’s involvement in the UN-led efforts, both in relation to the form and substance of a future settlement and the potential benefits Turkey could gain in its relations with the EU through progress on resolving the Cyprus problem.

He also outlined the efforts being made by both the government and himself personally to advance negotiations.

“The immediate period ahead will be particularly critical,” the president said, adding that continuous and intensive consultations were under way with the aim of enabling the UN Secretary-General to convene an enlarged conference and create the conditions for announcing the resumption of formal talks.

According to the statement, Christodoulides also noted that Guterres had publicly reaffirmed his strong political will to pursue a settlement within the UN framework, building on the existing convergences and stressing the need for the sides to “go the last mile”.