The National Council will convene at 10 am today to review developments in the Cyprus issue and EU-Turkey relations between March and July, ahead of a second informal five-party meeting scheduled for New York in two weeks.
President Nikos Christodoulides will brief political leaders and exchange views regarding the upcoming talks, set for 16-17 July at UN headquarters in New York.
The president is expected to address his meetings with UN Secretary-General personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin and European Commission envoy Johannes Hahn, as well as contacts with foreign leaders concerning Cyprus negotiations.
Assessment of progress
The session will review achievements regarding confidence-building measures and the primary objective of returning to negotiations since the first informal five-party meeting in Geneva in March.
Specific steps were agreed at the Geneva talks to be implemented before the second meeting. The National Council will assess the overall situation and prospects for the July multilateral discussions.
Limited optimism
General sentiment regarding the New York talks remains cautious, with sources indicating that beyond confidence-building measures, no significant developments have emerged to provide prospects for substantive progress on the Cyprus issue.
Turkish side behaviour has not generated particular hopes, whilst the pre-election climate in the occupied areas limits prospects for meaningful forward movement. The New York meeting is likely to serve as a review of developments to date.
Official announcement
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric officially announced the informal five-party Cyprus meeting during a regular press briefing, noting it would provide an opportunity to continue dialogue and exchange views on progress achieved since March.
“Following the informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format that was held in Geneva on 17-18 March of this year, the Secretary-General will convene in New York, at the UN Headquarters on 16 and 17 July, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, as well as representatives of the guarantor powers of Greece, the United Kingdom and Türkiye, for another informal meeting on Cyprus,” Dujarric said.
“The meeting will provide an opportunity to continue the dialogue and exchange views on the progress made since the meeting in March,” he added.
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