UNSG-Erdogan meeting in New York crucial for developments on Cyprus issue

The Cyprus problem will be among the issues which the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will discuss on19 September during their meeting in New York.

Their discussion is considered to be crucial as regards Guterres' next moves on the Cyprus issue and efforts aiming at the resumption of the negotiations. Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether a trilateral meeting between Guterres, Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar will take place in New York. Guterres will meet with the two leaders separately, Christodoulides on Friday, 22 September, and Tatar on Saturday, 23 September.

Asked on 18 September about the possibility of a trilateral meeting the UNSG's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, said "We will have to wait and see a little bit on that."

Meanwhile, President Christodoulides will meet among others on 19 September with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, with whom he is expected to discuss efforts for the resumption of the UN-led negotiations on the Cyprus problem and the EU's role in this, as he did on 18 September with the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen. 

Christodoulides worked on the afternoon of 18 September to finalise the speech he will deliver on Wednesday, 20 September before the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly and attended a meeting with his close aides, the Government Spokesman, the Director and the Deputy Director of his Diplomatic Office and Cyprus Permanent Representative to the UN. 

According to the programme of his visit, the President will attend early on 19 September a reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the UN headquarters, in the honour of heads of state participating in the General Assembly.

Later on, he will attend the opening session of the General Assembly, which will be addressed, among others, by the UN Secretary-General, the US President Joe Biden, the King of Jordan Abdullah II, and the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Following that the President will have a meeting with the President of the European Council Charles Michel. 

Later on, he will meet with the Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Jeffrey Sachs. They will discuss issues related to climate change and the Republic of Cyprus initiative to address its impact in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Following that, the President will have separate meetings with the President of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, and the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

He will later on address the Leaders' Dialogue on "Unity and Solidarity".

In the evening the President will attend, accompanied by his spouse Philippa Karsera Christodoulides, the reception hosted by President Biden and his spouse Jill, for the heads of state participating in the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, will have a series of bilateral meetings with other Foreign Ministers on 19 September and he will participate in a trilateral meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Israel.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

(Source: CNA)