The interventionist role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the submission of proposals – within the terms of the mandate set by the Security Council – can contribute to the progress of the Cyprus issue. The President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis, seemed to favor similar moves, with those of Crans Montana, where the UN Secretary General to assist the process submitted the well-known “Guterres framework” from six points.
Jane Hall Lute in the two meetings she had with Nikos Anastasiadis (in the morning) and Ersin Tatar (early in the afternoon) informed them about the intention of the UN Secretary General to convene the informal 5 + 1 conference in February. According to Ersin Tatar, the informal five-party meeting can take place in early March. As for the venue, everything shows that it will be in New York, unless the UN Secretary General's program brings it to Europe and then they will be in Geneva.
Given the convening of a five-party meeting by the UN Secretary-General, what Antonio Guterres wants to know is the intentions of the parties and, above all, how they see the process proceeding. Jane Hall Luth, according to our information, conveyed this concern to the two leaders. He asked to know their intentions in case the other side insists on its existing positions.
According to our information, President Anastasiadis, during his conversation with Jane Hall Luth, reiterated the position that the UN Secretary General should take a new initiative by presenting proposals. According to our information, the position of President Anastasiadis is that the UN Secretary General should move in a similar way as he did in Crans Montana. Possibly make suggestions with the process remaining in the context of “Cypriot ownership”. At the same time, President Anastasiadis clarified that there is no question of changing the terms of the mandate, ie changing the basis of the talks.
After the Anastasiadis-Lut meeting, the Government Spokesman, Kyriakos Kousios, stated that a constructive discussion took place regarding the convening of the informal pentagram by the UN Secretary General and “expressed his readiness to participate in the informal pentagram within the framework of the UN Secretary-General, dated 26 October 2020 “.
Mr. Kousios also expressed the expectation that the informal five-party meeting will lead to a substantial resumption of talks, with the aim of reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem within the agreed solution framework.
Furthermore, the President of the Republic stressed the importance of promoting effective confidence-building measures, as well as the relevant request of the Secretary General, which will create the appropriate climate and prospects for achieving the goal of resolving the Cyprus issue. He also said that President Anastasiadis noted that unilateral actions do not help create an appropriate climate, nor do they help the success of a new dialogue.
The statements in the occupied areas were made by Ersin Tatar who said that he is satisfied with his meeting with J. H. Lut “because in the end, I feel that the argument we are making, our arguments, is beginning to be accepted. I got this impression. In the final, we clearly set our positions. “
His position on a “cooperation of two states on the basis of sovereign equality” is not a precondition for a 5 + 1 meeting, but he clarified that if after the five-party meeting, with the views he has expressed, there is room for discussion, then conversations can continue.
This is what the realities in Cyprus now demand, otherwise it is a waste of time, he added. “Cyprus is no longer the old Cyprus. The eastern Mediterranean is not the old eastern Mediterranean. “Many things have changed in the region, there are the rights and interests of different regions in the search for hydrocarbons, Turkey is decisive in this.”
He and his team, he continued, are in constant consultation with Turkey, the Turkish Foreign Minister has known the issue for years and with the orders of the Turkish President the process is progressing.
Mr. Tatar said that reference to two states has been made in recent weeks in the Turkish press, arguing that his own approach to a two-state cooperation is now being discussed in New York and Washington.
They inform the leaderships
On Thursday, President Anastasiadis and on Friday, Ersin Tatar, will brief the political leadership in the free and occupied areas respectively.
The Government Spokesman announced after the meeting of President Anastasiadis with Jane Hall Lut that a meeting of the National Council will be convened on Thursday at 11 am in order to inform the political leadership about Lut's contacts and the developments in the Cyprus issue.
Ersin Tatar announced in the occupied territories that on Friday he would call the political leaders in his office to inform them about the meeting with Ms. Lut and all the latest developments.
Turkey is pushing its weight towards the European Union, in an effort to normalize relations between the two sides and return them to the previous situation. Following Erdogan's phone call to von der Leyen, Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu announced his move to Brussels on January 21st.
Ankara is changing course with the EU as it seems to anticipate that a change of government in the US will not change Washington's approach to Turkey, while the normalization of relations between the Gulf countries overturns Turkish plans.
Turkey is building bridges to the EU
Faced with the danger of isolation, Turkey, in addition to changing its rhetoric towards European countries, has launched a marathon of contacts. Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Tsavousoglu will travel to Brussels on January 21st. According to Commission spokesman Peter Stano, both Tsavousoglu's visit and the teleconference between High Representative Josep Borrell and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with the Turkish President on Saturday. the European Council.
Peter Stano, responding to a question from KYPE, noted that the Commission has not yet been officially notified of the Turkish side's intention to formally invite the Greek side to exploratory talks in January, but stressed the added value of normalizing Turkey's relations with the states. members. As he said, the issues that bother Turkey in its relations with specific Member States “bother the whole EU and must end”.
In addition, Chief Commissioner Eric Mammer clarified that the Commission does not in any way share Erdogan's statements that EU-Turkey relations are hampered by “the whims of certain Member States” and stressed that the Commission's position is only the decision of the European Council.
Peter Stano also referred to the December European Council conclusions and reiterated that “all Member States are interested in having productive relations with the EU, based on cooperation” and that the work of the Commission and the EEAS has been aimed at succeed.
Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu had hurried, through an impressive move, to announce that he had called on Greece to resume exploratory contacts. However, from Athens, the representative of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that until yesterday there was no invitation from the Turkish side.
Al. Papaioannou stated that “Greece, as it is known, has expressed its willingness to respond, in case of a relevant invitation of the Turkish side, to the basis of International Law regarding the delimitation of the EEZ and the continental shelf”. It is recalled that the last round of investigations took place in 2016 in Athens.
