Cyprus President and UN envoy respond to Turkish Minister in Brussels

The President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides confirmed that he is set to meet in Brussels with the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, and responded to statements made by the Turkish Foreign Minister, stressing that Cyprus is a centre of humanitarian aid and civilian evacuation operations.

In his remarks upon his arrival at the naming ceremony of the "Stelios Pisis" park, organised by the Municipality of Germasogeia, the President of the Republic was asked to confirm the information about his meeting with the UNSG Personal Envoy in Brussels.

"I will have a meeting with Mrs. Holguin in Brussels, we have been in contact all these days. We will announce the specific date and time as soon as we get closer to the date," he said. Asked to interpret the scheduling of the meeting, he said that "we should interpret it positively, because it is a continuation of Mrs. Holguin's effort, which we support, not in words, but with concrete actions, with concrete initiatives, with concrete proposals, and we are here to do everything possible on our side to make Mrs. Holguin’s mission a success."

Asked why the meeting will be held outside Cyprus, he said that "I will be in Brussels for the European Council, Mrs. Holguin will be in Brussels for other meetings and we said we will meet, there is no reason or expediency."

President Christodoulides was also invited to comment on statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who presented Cyprus as a "centre of operations" in relation to the war in Gaza.

"I want to say to the Turkish Foreign Minister that Cyprus is a centre of operations, a centre of humanitarian operations. Humanitarian aid is being sent, supported by the international community. It is a centre of operations to evacuate civilians from the area, as we have done many times, we have done so recently," he said.

He added that he understands the Turkish Foreign Minister's difficulty that the role of the Republic of Cyprus is recognised at the international level, and that through such statements he attempts to involve Cyprus in the conflict. "Whatever he does, our role is known to everyone: sending humanitarian aid, evacuating populations," he said.

He noted that it was "a bit unfortunate" to hear that from Turkey's Foreign Minister when “we all know very well what is happening in Turkey in relation to all these issues. So, I understand the difficult position he is in, precisely because of the recognition of the role of the Republic of Cyprus."

The President reiterated that "we are not involved. We are part of the solution, not the problem, not with words, but with actions."

He further noted that he will not engage in such a dialogue. "That is where they want to take the debate. We take everything very seriously, we do not downplay anything, but I am not going to engage in a public debate aimed at serving the narrative of the Turkish Foreign Minister," he said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.