Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday announced a five-party meeting in March to focus on the Cyprus issue, speaking during an address to announce his government’s planning.
He made special reference to efforts made during his administration to lift the impasse on finding a solution to the long-standing Cyprus problem, as he said, underlining a “clear political will”, saying this was the basis for activating international interest towards creating “conditions towards the direction of resuming talks.”
At the same time, Christodoulides cited what he called the direct link between EU-Turkish relations and developments surrounding the Cyprus issue, saying this creates conditions for a viable and functional solution.
“I will do everything possible to fully exploit an upcoming expanded meeting under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, which is expected to take place next March,” Christodoulides said, while adding that he will do the same when he meets with UN Under–Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo.
According to the head of Christodoulides’ press office, Viktoras Papadopoulos, this meeting will take place in Nicosia on Feb. 10, a day on which DiCarlo will also meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar ahead of the five-party meeting.
The latest developments are also under scrutiny by Athens, with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis speaking with UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres, with the most prominent issue discussed being developments regarding the Cyprus issue. Gerapetritis spoke to Guterres from Vilnius, where he arrived for a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart.
DiCarlo is planning to travel to Athens after meeting the two leaders on Cyprus, as well as to the capitals of the other two guarantor powers for preliminary talks ahead of the five-party meeting.
Today’s contacts between the chief negotiators of the two sides on Cyprus are also deemed as crucial.
On Friday Christodoulides will receive Colin Steward, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) in Cyprus and head of UNFICYPUN, another crucial meeting before a looming Christodoulides-Tatar meeting to discuss CBMs and the opening of new crossing points.
During his address on Wednesday, the president of the Republic of Cyprus also referred to security vis-à-vis external challenges, what he called an upgrading of Cyprus’ diplomatic “footprint” and a reinforcement of a sense of security for Cyprus’ citizens through a strategic cooperation with the United States, something that boosts and modernizes the state’s defense.
Within this context, he said the prospect of turning Cyprus into a producer of cutting-edge defense systems is feasible, while he also referred to the plans to upgrade the Andreas Papandreou Air Base and the expansion of the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base. Additionally, he said 2025 will see the inclusion of Cyprus in the US visa waiver program, while “within the year” he pledged that the technical preparations for Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen Zone will be completed.
Two agreements with Egypt
Regarding the energy sector, within the framework of intensifying efforts to exploit natural gas deposits in Cyprus’ EEZ, Christodoulides announced that “at least two new drilling operations” will begin, at the Electra and Pegasus fields, while he announced that he will travel to Cairo on Feb. 17 at the invitation of the Egyptian President to sign “two important agreements for the commercial exploitation of natural gas” from the Kronos and Aphrodite fields, both located in Cyprus’ EEZ.