Eyes on the UN General Assembly and Turkey
Muddy and with no visible light at the end of the tunnel, the Cyprus issue remains, at least at this stage, in view of the submission of the report of the personal envoy of the General Secretary, Maria Angela Holguin, to Antonio Guterres.
Speaking to “P”, in the context of his interview that will be published in its entirety on Sunday, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos stated that there is a regular contact with Maria Angela Holguin, adding that the President of the Republic often has discussions with her. “We had the information that he was going to come to Cyprus for a new round of consultations, but we have no decisive role and reason in relation to the time of his arrival and his schedule.” At the same time, Konstantinos Kombos expects the submission of its report to the UN Secretary-General in the first days of July, while “in the meantime the discussions will continue since the time between now and the submission of the report is not long”.
< p>However, so far there is no indication, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, from the Turkish side and from the Turkish leadership that there is a change that would allow a return to negotiations. “The other side insists on the sovereign equality of two states. It is important, however, that there is now a person mandated by the UN Secretary General to help us move forward”, said Konstantinos Kombos and assured that “we remain committed to the agreed framework and no negotiation can take place outside the framework of the Council Security”.
The reasons
The effort of the UN and the personal envoy of the Secretary-General, Maria Angela Holgin, continues to run afoul of the Turkish side's insistence on a two-state solution and sovereign equality, at a time when, according to the information, the UN considers that the situation would be facilitated if and the EU side showed more flexibility with respect to some incentives towards the Turkish Cypriot side. The information says that the United Nations favors the holding of a five-party or tripartite meeting on the Cyprus issue, something with which the EU side also agrees, however such a meeting has not taken place because there does not seem to be a basis and subject for discussion.
All eyes are now on the UN Secretary-General but also on Turkey since Athens and Nicosia have already supported the renewal of the mandate of the personal envoy, Maria Angela Holgin, in order to continue the effort, while Ersin Tatar rejected such a possibility. Therefore, and given the Tatar refusal, the key to the renewal of the mandate of the personal envoy seems to lie in Turkey, while Maria Angela Holgin's report is also awaited with interest.
< p >Proposal
Another parameter is highlighted by the negotiator of e /k side, Menelaos Menelaou, who expressed the position that “we must ensure that we support with hope and not fear a proposal forward, towards a new common future, reconciliation in Cyprus. Not by emphasizing what the consequences will be if we fail, but by conveying to the world the feeling of security, stability, prosperity that a solution will bring to them and to the country”.
Menelaus Menelaus translated at the same time that it is important to preserve the work that has been achieved to date “and we work to move forward and produce a result that can be approved by the people in a referendum”.
