Annita calls for progress on Cyprus problem after Gerapetritis meeting

House President Annita Demetriou on Monday called for “substantive progress” to be made in efforts to bring about a resumption of negotiations in earnest on the Cyprus problem after she met Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis in Athens. “A substantive exchange of views took place on the challenges and complex issue which Greece and Cyprus are called upon to address jointly, particularly at the European and regional levels. Regarding the Cyprus issue, the need for substantive progress to resume negotiations was underlined,” she said. She added that those negotiations must be undertaken “with the aim of liberating and reuniting our homeland”, and that “Greece and Cyprus are working together toward this direction”. “In this context, the possibilities for leveraging the dimensions of relations between Europe and Turkey were discussed,” she said. Related Articles • Cyprus problem efforts not ‘frozen’, Christodoulides says • Kallas: Cyprus problem progress could help solve other problems • Androulla Vassiliou warns against speculation on Cyprus talks • Erhurman slams ‘baseless’ claims on Cyprus talks • Reported new Cyprus problem plan ‘neither necessary nor appropriate’ She went on to say that both Greece and Cyprus are “promoting responsible policies and coordinated diplomatic initiatives”, and that “close cooperation and coordination remain essential in order to defend the prevalence of international law, European principles and values in Cyprus, and our national interests”. Her comments come with efforts having ramped up on all sides with the aim of bringing about a resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus problem, with Gerapetritis having been visited by United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin earlier this month. After that meeting, the Greek foreign ministry had said that Gerapetritis had “expressed Greece’s confidence in UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts towards finding a comprehensive, just, and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue”. Such a solution, it added, must be found “within the framework of the relevant United Nations security council resolutions”, It said that Gerapetritis had “stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum which has been built on the Cyprus issue over the past two and a half years”. “Greece, in solidarity with the Republic of Cyprus, remains ready to contribute constructively to the next steps, with the aim of achieving the resumption of talks, on the basis of the agreed framework,” it said. Holguin’s next meeting of note is due to be with European Council President Antonio Costa on July 13, with that meeting having been postponed from its originally planned date to then in light of next week’s Nato leaders’ summit in Ankara, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host, and which Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will attend. The summit will take place with discussions regarding security guarantees in a post-solution Cyprus centring on the idea of those guarantees being provided through a Nato-based structure. Those guarantees may come in the form of the new Cypriot republic’s accession to Nato, alongside the presence of Nato troops from Turkey, Greece, France, the United Kingdom and the United States on the island. However, when questioned on the prospect of Holguin meeting Nato officials while in Brussels, which is also the seat of Nato’s headquarters, and of Nato-based security guarantees in a post-solution Cyprus, a Nato official told the Cyprus Mail that “there are no meetings planned with the envoy and the topic has not been discussed at Nato”. Alongside Erdogan and Mitsotakis, Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister of Cyprus’ third guarantor power, the United Kingdom, is set to attend the summit, alongside Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Starmer is likely to resign within ten days of that summit to be replaced as prime minister by outgoing Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, though this change is not expected to impact the UK’s stance on the Cyprus problem.