The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Cyprus problem, María Ángela Holguín, is in Ankara for talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, as diplomatic activity around a planned summer 5+1 informal meeting continues.
The Holguín-Fidan talks are considered significant for the next phase of efforts on the Cyprus problem and, in particular, for the expected 5+1 meeting in mid-summer, according to Phileleftheros. Holguín is then due to travel to Athens for talks with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.
The envoy is also expected back on the island within two weeks, according to reporting from last week. Her return is linked to the July/August meeting and is expected to be preparatory in nature; a specific message from the UN Secretary-General has not been ruled out.
President Nikos Christodoulides travels to Brussels on Thursday to meet the heads of EU institutions, with the central issue being the role the EU can play in the next, decisive stage of efforts on the Cyprus problem.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and European Council President António Costa are in direct communication on how the EU can contribute to those efforts, Phileleftheros reported.
Sources familiar with the background to Cyprus problem efforts stressed the role the EU could play in giving impetus to the Secretary-General’s initiative.
Nicosia, which has from the outset invested in an active EU role in efforts to restart talks, views the approach being taken by the two Portuguese figures at the UN and EU very positively, the sources said.
A key question for the period ahead — and before the new informal 5+1 meeting, expected in late July or early August — is whether the EU will make the first moves toward Turkey, or whether Ankara will first signal its support for dialogue on the Cyprus problem before receiving concessions from Brussels, Phileleftheros reported.
In an interview with Kathimerini, Christodoulides said Turkey would not move toward a settlement of the Cyprus problem unless it felt there were benefits to be gained, and that the only party capable of offering such benefits was the EU.
He said any concession to Ankara must be preceded by tangible progress on the Cyprus problem, a position that makes clear Nicosia’s view that Ankara must first take steps that benefit the Cyprus problem before EU-Turkey relations can advance.
Turkey’s agenda on EU relations is specific: participation in the SAFE European defence programme, visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, and an update to the EU-Turkey Customs Union. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has focused his weight on Turkey’s participation in SAFE.
Christodoulides also told Kathimerini that a new appointment by the European Commission President was in the works, adding that he discussed specific names with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during last week’s meeting in Montenegro.
Cyprus’s chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, speaking on CyBC, said Nicosia was seeking to use the European framework to address a series of issues of interest to Ankara: an update to the EU-Turkey Customs Union, visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, and Turkey’s participation in the SAFE defence programme.
He confirmed that the Greek Cypriot side remained fully ready to contribute constructively with a view to a positive outcome and a decision to resume talks, with the possible convening of the expanded meeting in late July or early August.
Earlier last week, the Technical Committee on Youth completed a two-day visit to Brussels under UN auspices and with EU support. During the visit, committee members met EU High Representative and Vice-President Kaja Kallas and Holguín.
A UN statement said the discussions “highlighted the importance of meaningful youth participation in building trust, dialogue and cooperation across the island.”
