Press Releases

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, received today at the Presidential Palace the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Ms Rosemary DiCarlo.

Welcoming Ms DiCarlo, the President of the Republic of Cyprus addressed the issue of the resumption of negotiations for the settlement of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation in line with the UN Security Council Resolutions.

President Christodoulides added: “I am looking forward to our discussions. I have some very specific proposals to convey to you on the way forward, and especially in order to have a successful outcome when the Secretary-General decides to convey the enlarged meeting. We are ready to participate. For us, the status quo cannot be the solution of the Cyprus problem and as the time passes the situation is getting worse.”

Moreover, he stated that, as we perceive in our neighbourhood, there are no frozen conflicts.

He expressed his satisfaction about Ms DiCarlo’s presence and about the fact that there was an exchange views on the way forward and especially about the resumption of the negotiations from the point they stopped at Crans-Montana. He added that “as I told you, I have some very specific proposals on the way forward.”

For her part, Ms DiCarlo noted, inter alia: “I'm very happy to be back on the island and we are looking forward to the meeting in March. The Secretary-General is very committed, as you know, to assist the sides in moving forward.”

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Constantinos Kombos, the Negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side for the Cyprus Problem, Mr Menelaos Menelaou, the Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Ms Marilena Raouna, the Government Spokesperson, Mr Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the Director of the Press Office of the President of the Republic, Mr Viktoras Papadopoulos, and the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic, Mr Doros Venezis.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting with President Christodoulides, Ms DiCarlo said that they had a very constructive conversation. “We discussed preparations for the upcoming meeting in Geneva next month. I assured him of the Secretary-General's strong commitment to work with the parties on this issue going forward”, she added.

Ms DiCarlo also said that she had met earlier with the Turkish Cypriot leader and that she would also meet with a group of women representatives “who are very engaged in peace processes and have been engaged over the years”. “And later this evening, I will also be having dinner with the negotiators from both sides”, she noted.

Asked about the date of the enlarged meeting, Ms DiCarlo said that the date will be announced shortly by the United Nations.

(AS/ΙΑ)