Newsroom
President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday reaffirmed his government’s readiness to resume reunification talks from where they stopped in Crans-Montana in 2017, during his first meeting with Khassim Diagne, the new UN Special Representative and head of UNFICYP.
At the Presidential Palace, Christodoulides expressed his political will to move the process forward and said both he and his negotiating team are ready to work closely with the UN’s new envoy.
According to the Presidency, the President emphasized that the Greek Cypriot side remains committed to creating the right conditions for meaningful negotiations that could finally break the island’s long-standing impasse.
Diagne, who recently took over from Colin Stewart, said the UN Secretary-General remains deeply committed to the Cyprus peace process. He assured Christodoulides that he and the UNFICYP team will do everything possible to foster an environment that will allow both leaders, Christodoulides and newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, to engage in “meaningful and result-oriented” talks.
“You can count on me and the entire UNFICYP team,” Diagne said, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to meet the president and discuss the road ahead.
Following the meeting, the UN announced that Diagne will meet with Erhurman later this week as part of his introductory contacts with both sides.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna, Negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, and Presidential Office Directors Doros Venezis and Victor Papadopoulos.
