According to our latest information, the informal five-day conference is heading to the second half of April, and more specifically to the last week of the month in Geneva. There was no official announcement from the United Nations yesterday either, but the information states that the interested parties have been informed about the date and the place where the conference is planned to take place. Of course, no one can guarantee that there will be no new reversal in the planning of the United Nations, due to the general situation that prevails with the coronavirus pandemic. Most likely, at the beginning of next week, both the date and the place of the appointment will be officially announced.
Until then, of course, there is a long way to go and despite the fact that the Government Spokesman Kyriakos Kousios said yesterday that Nicosia is preparing for the informal conference and is moderately optimistic, things are not easy at all with the data as follows:
-Toxic climate: At the moment the Government has to manage several open fronts inside, with a highly toxic climate in the political scene and President Anastasiadis himself receiving daily fire. The situation as it is formed does not allow good communication between the political forces, which under the current circumstances and the high opposition tones they maintain, do not show a willingness to support Nikos Anastasiadis. Also, the time that the five-party seems to have locked in, is in the finale of the pre-election period in view of the parliamentary elections in May. This fact makes it even more difficult to show a spirit of consensus and collectivity towards the challenges that will arise before the Greek Cypriot side from the developments in the Cyprus issue.
SEE ALSO: Nicosia moderately optimistic about informal pentamer
-Turkish traps: At the same time, the messages coming from the other side create intense concern in Nicosia. Which in essence goes to the five-party without a way out, but with strong concerns about the positions and actions that the Turkish side may take in order to torpedo the process, while trapping the Greek Cypriot side in new impasses. It is very likely that in the meantime, he will try to create new accomplishments on the ground in order to exert further pressure on the Greek Cypriot side.
It is also obvious – from the moves that are being made – by Ankara that it is trying to strengthen the occupation regime in any way in the context of the claim for sovereign equality that Ersin Tatar is claiming.
According to the government spokesman, a new meeting of the legal group will be held on Monday, in preparation for the informal conference, noting that the preparations for the informal five-party meeting have been underway for some time. “It is known that a group of legal experts on constitutional law and other similar specialties has been set up, which has already met in several sessions,” he said.
He added that “the members of this group have studied various issues, which have been brought before them, and the discussion of the results of the work they have done has already begun. “On Monday, there will be a new meeting of this group to discuss specific legal issues concerning the substance of the Cyprus issue, as well as the informal pentagon,” he said.
At the same time, he noted, the President of the Republic has met with the negotiating team “and intends to utilize all the members of the negotiating team, especially in the areas in which they have dealt, as he will utilize the contribution of special constitutional jurists.”
Asked to comment on statements by Turkish leader Ersin Tatar that he would put the two-state solution on the table at the informal conference, the government spokesman said: “We support a solution based on the resolutions and decisions of the United Nations and the Council. Security “.
Akar: Only solution, the two states in Cyprus
There is no other solution than the two-state solution in Cyprus, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, saying that the Cyprus issue is a national issue for Turkey.
Speaking in Foca, Izmir, the Turkish Defense Minister said that everyone should see “Turkey's peacekeeping operation in Cyprus” in his words, “and should not ignore it”. Indeed, he argued, “it brought peace, tranquility and stability to the island.”
“Turkey is a guarantor power in Cyprus together with Britain and Greece. “The attempt of some to show Turkey as a military presence in Cyprus different from its legal basis does not reflect reality,” he added.
The Turkish minister claimed that “these false statements and unjust accusations will not benefit either the Greek or the Greek Cypriot side.”
The Eastern Mediterranean on the agenda of SEY
The issue of the Eastern Mediterranean will be on the agenda of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's teleconference with his European counterparts on Monday, as it is expected to be raised by some ministers. According to a Community official, the issue of the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey, on which the leaders had agreed at the December Summit to have EU-US coordination, is also considered certain. Regarding the general developments in EU-Turkey relations, the EU official said that “things are calmer, this is the first time in a long time that Turkey is not on the foreign ministers' agenda” and stressed that “now is the time to diplomacy, which is fully operational in order to bring about developments within the European Council “. Finally, the official confirmed that the extension of the list of so-called sanctions on persons for illegal drilling within the Cyprus EEZ within the framework decided by the European Council has not yet been completed and “there is no relative mobility in the last two weeks”.
