Cyprus president says he is ready for expanded talks — Cyprus Mail
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said he is ready to take part in an expanded conference on the Cyprus issue as soon as the UN secretary-general considers it appropriate. Ahead of another meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, he said he plans to present around 19 specific points on the methodology of negotiations and confidence-building measures.
As Cyprus Mail reports, Christodoulides expressed hope for positive results and called next week critical. He also said he spoke by phone in the morning with EU Special Envoy for the Cyprus issue Raffaele Fitto and plans to meet UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo in the first days of his stay in New York.
Readiness for different formats
According to the president, the Republic of Cyprus is ready to discuss the issue at a bilateral or trilateral meeting, as well as within an expanded conference. He stressed that the side is ready to hold such a meeting this week, next week or at another time, if there is political will from all sides.
Christodoulides rejected suggestions that the absence of a trilateral or expanded conference during the UN General Assembly week limits his negotiating position. He noted that Antonio Guterres is to hold around 186 bilateral meetings with heads of delegations, so the schedule is not the main obstacle. The president added that the Cypriot side can remain in New York, return there in October or travel to Geneva.
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UN position and the citizenship issue
On the eve of this, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that no meeting on the Cyprus issue in 3+1 or 5+1 formats would take place on the sidelines of the General Assembly. He stated that a future meeting requires preparation that would create real prospects for a result, and stressed the need not to repeat previous mistakes.
The issue of mixed marriages was also raised during the talks. Christodoulides said he does not consider it a confidence-building measure, and that the rules for granting citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus apply to all applicants regardless of their origin. This concerns children of Turkish Cypriots who married Turkish settlers: their applications for citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus and, accordingly, the EU undergo additional scrutiny.
The meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman took place after talks between the sides' representatives, Menelaos Menelaou and Mehmet Dana. Their session at UN offices in the building of the former Nicosia airport was to be the last before the start of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 28.
