UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres faces firm opposition from Turkey as he tries to arrange high-level meetings on the Cyprus problem. So far, the Turkish Cypriot leadership has given a qualified yes, the Greek Cypriot side has responded positively, and Greece and Britain support him.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously limited his references to Cyprus in his speech to the General Assembly and avoided mentioning it in meetings with Guterres.
The high-level meetings are divided into two phases. The first is a 2+1 meeting of Guterres, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, and the second a 5+1 meeting of Guterres, the two leaders and the three guarantor powers. Guterres needs all the pieces in place to organise a meeting in either format.
A multilateral meeting during the UN’s High-Level Week in New York was outside Guterres’s programme from the start, as he made clear two months ago while in Cyprus.
Over the coming week, Guterres will speak with all those involved and form a clearer picture of their intentions from what they say, or do not say. His personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, will meet the two leaders to review progress in their talks so far. She may hand over the long-awaited convergence document the UN undertook to prepare, during those meetings or at the end of them. Guterres will also see Erhürman at the end of the week, and announcements from Guterres are not ruled out.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in the delegation’s first statements on US soil that the High-Level Week “is the top diplomatic moment of the year”, and that the delegation is in New York focused on the Cyprus problem.
Christodoulides arrives with ideas, proposals and suggestions on confidence-building measures, and on the methodology and substance of the Cyprus problem, Letymbiotis said. The government’s goal is unchanged, he said: to help, as far as its own capabilities allow, to make possible an enlarged meeting with the goal the UN Secretary-General has set, “a successful enlarged meeting that will be a real springboard towards the resumption of substantive negotiations from the point where they were interrupted”.
Christodoulides meets Guterres on Thursday, September 24, at 10.55am New York time, preceded by a meeting with Holguín on Tuesday, September 22, at 6pm, according to his programme. Holguín arrives in New York on Tuesday, the day of that meeting, Letymbiotis said.
Asked about a possible trilateral meeting, Letymbiotis said that, at least so far, the government does not have the possibility of a joint meeting with either Guterres or his envoy. The government views such a possibility positively, he said, and Christodoulides has said that, if Guterres’s schedule allows, the delegation is considering extending its stay in New York after the High-Level Week to make such a meeting possible. On the convergence document, Letymbiotis said the government expects to be briefed by Holguín.
Christodoulides’s week of contacts, meetings and speeches began in the early hours of Monday, Cyprus time. He was due to meet the heads of diaspora organisations at about 3am (8pm in New York) to discuss developments on the Cyprus problem. His contacts with the UN run from Tuesday to Thursday. His programme includes, among other things (New York time):
Monday, September 21: He meets King Abdullah II of Jordan at 1.15pm. In the afternoon he takes part in a summit co-hosted by European Council President Antonio Costa and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on multilateralism, international law, peace and prosperity.
Tuesday, September 22: He attends the opening of the General Assembly plenary, where Guterres will present his report of activities. In the afternoon he meets Javier la Rosa, head of Chevron’s base assets and emerging countries division.
Wednesday, September 23: He addresses the General Assembly plenary at about 12.30pm, then speaks at a high-level session on climate change convened by Guterres. In the afternoon he meets ExxonMobil vice-president John Ardill.
Thursday, September 24: In the morning he attends a working breakfast hosted by Antenna Group and the Atlantic Council on strengthening EU-Gulf cooperation for regional security and prosperity. After his meeting with Guterres, he hosts a lunch for the permanent representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
Friday, September 25: In the morning he meets Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and then representatives of the AJC. Before leaving New York, he will attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Cypriot diaspora organisations.
Christodoulides is accompanied by Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos, Letymbiotis and negotiator Menelaos Menelaou. He returns to Cyprus on the evening of September 26.
