Christodoulides puts himself at UN’s disposal for August, briefs National Council

Politics Cyprus problemNikos ChristodoulidesTop NewsUnited Nations Christodoulides puts himself at UN’s disposal for August, briefs National Council E39a7192 1536x794 Relevant News Poisoned bait blamed for spate of cat deaths in Giolou 3 August 2026 Christodoulides puts himself at UN’s disposal for August, briefs National Council 3 August 2026 Cyprus intelligence chief’s Beirut trip: what Lebanese media report 3 August 2026 newsroom 3 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The National Council meeting at the Presidential Palace, chaired by President Nikos Christodoulides, ended at around 1:15pm on Monday. During the session, which lasted a little over two and a half hours, Christodoulides briefed Council members on the latest developments in the Cyprus problem following last week’s visits to Cyprus by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the newly appointed EU Special Representative for the Cyprus problem, Raffaele Fitto. Party leaders and the government spokesperson reacted as follows. Victoras Papadopoulos: the briefing readout After the meeting, the President’s Press Office Director, Victoras Papadopoulos, told reporters that Christodoulides had briefed National Council members in detail on his visit and meetings with the UN Secretary-General, both the bilateral meeting and the meetings held in the presence of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman. He said Christodoulides also briefed the Council on the visit of EU Cyprus problem envoy and Commission Vice-President Fitto to Cyprus, which took place immediately after the Secretary-General’s visit, and exchanged views with Council members on next steps. Preparations for these next steps had already begun the day after the Secretary-General’s visit, he said, with the aim of reaching the expanded conference announced by the Secretary-General, for which Guterres has said he has secured a green light from all parties involved. Papadopoulos said it was very positive that the Secretary-General, for the first time since talks broke down in 2017, stated so clearly and categorically in his remarks to journalists that his effort is being made within the parameters of the United Nations, on the basis of the convergences and the acquis of previous talks, and called for the “last mile” to be covered, implying that talks should resume from where they broke off in the summer of 2017. He added that Christodoulides had already informed the Council he would be available to the United Nations throughout August, with work under way in this direction since the day after the meeting with the Secretary-General, involving both the UN Secretariat and the Secretary-General’s representatives. The President told Council members what he intends to do in the immediate period ahead, Papadopoulos said, in order to help the Secretary-General’s effort to convene an expanded conference as soon as possible. On the timeline Asked whether it is realistic to expect the UN to record the convergences by the UN General Assembly, Papadopoulos said the UN has a specific plan. He said the Secretary-General’s decision to put it into action means he considers the remaining time realistic, both for convening the expanded conference and for resuming talks with prospects of success, as the Secretary-General himself has stressed. On confidence-building measures and the conference’s focus Asked whether the preparatory stage is focused on confidence-building measures, on recording convergences, or on arranging a new meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman, Papadopoulos said the Secretary-General’s effort, as he himself has publicly defined it, is aimed at the expanded conference producing one specific result: the resumption of talks. The goal, he said, is to reach a point where, once at the expanded conference, there is a result. He noted the Secretary-General has said this himself, including at the press conference he gave in New York, and that the result he has set as the goal is the resumption of talks. Confidence-building measures help create the right climate, Papadopoulos said, but are not a precondition. He added that Christodoulides takes this factor very seriously and has specific proposals in this direction. On Turkey’s response Asked whether Turkey has responded positively on other issues beyond convening the expanded conference, Papadopoulos said the Secretary-General has stated he has secured a green light from all sides to convene the conference for the resumption of talks. He will prepare for it, Papadopoulos said, and announce himself when he considers that preparation has succeeded, so that the conference can produce a successful result. On the difficulties involved Asked another question, Papadopoulos said no one underestimates the difficulties, including the UN Secretary-General. He said the fact that talks have not resumed reflects difficulties that are not due to the Cypriot side, which he said has the political will and would have been at the talks table even yesterday. On Erhürman’s meeting proposal Asked about Erhürman’s social media post proposing weekly meetings with Christodoulides, and whether the President accepts such a proposal and would find it productive, Papadopoulos said Christodoulides is ready to do anything that can lead towards the goal of resuming talks and resolving the Cyprus problem. Annita Dimitriou: “Now is the time for responsibility” DISY leader Annita Dimitriou spoke on Monday, after the National Council session, about the need to make the most of the period ahead in order to resume substantive negotiations on the Cyprus problem from where they broke off at Crans-Montana. She said the political leadership was briefed by Christodoulides on Guterres’s visit and on Fitto’s visit. “Now, more than ever, is the time for responsibility,” she said, noting that proper preparation, method, collective effort and restraint in public statements are required. “The less we say, the more we let diplomacy do its work,” she said, adding that the goal is to make use of the “window of opportunity,” begin substantive negotiations for a solution within the agreed framework, and safeguard the negotiating acquis on the basis of UN resolutions and European principles and values. Dimitriou stressed that the Cyprus problem “is not suited to political games or patriotic outbidding,” but requires composure, responsibility and hard work. Asked whether she is optimistic about developments, she said it is not a matter of optimism but of hard work and careful diplomatic moves. “The goal is not unattainable, provided the right and careful diplomatic moves are made. That is what our side must pursue,” she said. According to Dimitriou, specific moves are being made in the right direction, while EU-Turkey relations, the convergences and wider regional developments must also be taken into account. “The Cyprus problem can never be examined in isolation. It is linked to all these developments,” she noted. Referring to the UN Secretary-General’s term, which ends in December, she said the intervening period must be used, in combination with the visits and contacts currently under way. Developments should be advanced, she added, so that a five-party meeting can take place, aimed at real progress and continuing the process from where it broke off at Crans-Montana. Asked to comment on a remark by a DISY MP that the political leadership has its eye on the summer recess or the 2028 presidential election, Dimitriou said everyone has the right to state their own position. She said those who took part in the National Council came prepared and submitted specific proposals, aimed at supporting Christodoulides in the effort on the Cyprus problem. “These are critical moments, and we want this timeframe to be genuinely used, so we can achieve the goal we all want: to take a step forward,” she said, adding that the role of MPs, party leaders and the House President is ongoing and that they remain available to both the President and the public. Stefanos Stefanou: the convergences must be safeguarded AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou said on Monday that continuing the negotiations from where they broke off, and safeguarding the convergences, is the path that will lead to a solution. In remarks after the National Council session and the briefing given to party leaders by Christodoulides on the visits of the UN Secretary-General and the EU Commission envoy to Cyprus, Stefanou said AKEL has already made public its assessment of the outcome of the Secretary-General’s visit. He said AKEL considers it significant that the Secretary-General stated “very clearly” his intention to convene an informal expanded meeting, aimed at resuming negotiations from where they broke off, while safeguarding the convergences and the negotiating acquis, “with the aim of focusing on the outstanding issues remaining from the 2017 Crans-Montana conference.” It is clear, he said, that this period will see an intensive effort by the UN to make the informal expanded meeting possible, by creating all the conditions the Secretary-General described in his statements in Cyprus. “As AKEL, we have always insisted that the way to exhaust every possible avenue in our effort to achieve a solution is to resume negotiations from where they broke off, and above all to safeguard the convergences,” he said, adding that “this is what we must focus on, this is what we must serve.” He said that if the necessary political will is shown by all parties involved, and above all by Turkey, “then we can achieve the desired result. Until then, however, we need to see whether and to what extent the conditions requested by the Secretary-General will be shaped, ahead of the effort to convene the informal expanded meeting.” Fidias Panayiotou: invest in informing the public The head of Direct Democracy Cyprus, Fidias Panayiotou, spoke of the need to inform the public about developments on the Cyprus problem, and of transparency, after the National Council meeting convened by Christodoulides on Monday morning. Panayiotou thanked Christodoulides for the briefing he gave to the National Council on the latest developments in the Cyprus problem. He said Direct Democracy Cyprus is considering putting some of the issues raised in the briefing to a public vote through its digital application. “As Direct Democracy, we also focused, at the National Council, on the need for everything, the convergences, all of it, to come out into the open, for the public, so people know exactly what’s happening, what’s being discussed, because after all this time, if we put the Cyprus problem to a referendum again, people might say no, or anything at all,” he said. “We need to bring people into this process, and that’s what we as Direct Democracy will try to do in the coming period: inform the public exactly what’s being discussed, what a bizonal, bicommunal federation is, and on certain matters, certain convergences, we’re thinking of putting some questions on our application, to ask people whether they accept them or not,” he added. “So we want to invest heavily in public information, and we insist on transparency, on everything coming out into the open, on what’s happening, what’s being discussed,” he concluded. Christos Christou: the Secretary-General failed to persuade Turkey The UN Secretary-General failed in the main objective of persuading Turkey to change its position, ELAM leader Christos Christou said in remarks on Monday after the National Council session ended. He also said no timeframe appears to be taking shape at this stage for the next round of talks. “We had the opportunity today to be briefed by the President on the outcome of the UN Secretary-General’s visit to Cyprus last week and on the contacts that took place. For our part, we observe that the Secretary-General failed in the main objective, which is to persuade Turkey to change its position and stance and help resolve the Cyprus problem,” he said. He continued that “we believe that various reports of an almost imminent resolution of the Cyprus problem in the coming months are, at this stage, unfounded, and it would be better to limit ourselves to what we know rather than what we assume.” “For our part, we make clear once again that confidence-building measures or other unilateral actions by the Republic of Cyprus, simply so that occupying Turkey agrees to be brought to the negotiating table, are in our view a mistaken direction. We have repeated this for decades without it bringing any substantive result. We maintain our long-standing position that a solution based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation would lead to the creation of an experimental state similar to the one currently operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, except that in that case it is based on a tri-zonal federation, and the result is that it does not function as a normal state,” he added. He also said they expect further developments, since no timeframe currently appears to be taking shape for the next round of talks, “and we remain available to the President, whenever needed, for new proposals and suggestions.” Asked whether he had said there is no indication Turkey will change position, and whether this was also what the President’s briefing conveyed, Christou said “another party leader has already referred, here before you, to Turkey’s recent actions regarding sovereign equality and actions taking place on the Green Line.” “I would add the case of the research vessel, which it chose to send during the days of the UN Secretary-General’s visit. Of course, all of this is also linked to EU-Turkey relations,” he said. He said he believes the reason Turkey is showing willingness for new talks is “the concessions it expects to receive from the European Union in specific areas.” Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Poisoned bait blamed for spate of cat deaths in Giolou Cyprus intelligence chief’s Beirut trip: what Lebanese media report Blood Bank appeals for donors as daily needs climb to 350 vials Autopsy confirms elderly Briton died from burns in Avgorou car fire Donizetti’s ‘L’Elisir d’Amore’ comes to Paphos harbour this September The Cyprus problem and its agendas Conditions of ‘joint concern for the good of Cyprus’ Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.