All political parties barring ELAM to follow President to Geneva

All political parties except one have accepted President Nicos Anastasiades’ invitation to accompany him to Geneva at the end of April, when the UN will be hosting an informal five-party meeting on Cyprus.

Speaking after the meeting of the National Council, the top advisory body to the President on the Cyprus issue, government spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said Anastasiades briefed party leaders on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, on the contacts and exchanges of views he had with European institutions and EU heads of state and government, as well as with other members of the international community.

Party leaders were also briefed on the process to be followed at the informal conference in Geneva and extended an invitation to political leaders to accompany him.

"All political parties, with the exception of ELAM, have accepted the invitation of the President of the Republic and the political leaders will be present in Geneva," Koushos said.

Anastasiades will be convening one more National Council before Geneva, while the Greek Cypriot negotiator will continue holding preparatory meeting with the Cyprus issue advisory team, Koushos said.

Tuesday’s National Council meeting, he said, was also attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis.

The meeting also featured a discussion on the coronavirus pandemic and particularly on the situation in Limassol, with Anastasiades calling on party leaders to contribute to efforts seeking to get the public to show greater responsibility in adhering to measures in place to curb the spread of the virus, allowing us to return to normality as soon as possible.