Two sides mount coordinating efforts with guarantor powers

Along with the visit of the Turkish FM to the north on Monday and the expected arrival of the UK Foreign Secretary later in the week, the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis will also be paying a visit to Cyprus over the coming days as the two sides and the three guarantor powers mount efforts to coordinate positions ahead of the informal five-party summit on the Cyprus Problem next month.

A written statement issued by government spokesperson Kyriakos Koushos on Monday announced that President Nicos Ansatasiades and the Greek PM arranged the meeting over the phone on Monday.

The phone call between the two leaders also served to provide a mutual update on current developments in the Cyprus Problem as the UN Secretary General is busy organising an informal five-party summit in early March where all sides are expected to table their positions in order to assess whether common ground for formal negotiations exists.

Monday also marked the first of the two-day visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu to the north, where he is expected to hold meetings with the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and other members of the leadership in view of clarifying and coordinating the positions with which they will participate at the informal summit.

So far, Tatar has remained adamant on his position in favour of a two-state solution with sovereign equality, though Cavusoglu reportedly offered a more flexible position before EU officials in Brussels.

Later this week, the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will also be flying to Cyprus to hold a string of meetings which will include the leaders of the two sides and the UNSG’s Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar.