Christodoulides signals positive Cyprus developments, announcements possible over weekend

President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday that developments in the Cyprus problem appeared to be moving in a positive direction, revealing that UN secretary-general’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin had told him during a telephone conversation that specific announcements could be made over the weekend. Speaking to journalists during a visit to the Ayios Charalambos Lyceum and Technical School in Emba, Paphos, Christodoulides said the process was now awaiting final responses. “We are in a process which, based on the information available so far, appears to point towards positive developments. We are at a stage of waiting, of awaiting final answers, if you like, and as the personal envoy told me, we may have specific announcements over the weekend,” he said. “The secretary-general is being kept continuously informed and I sincerely hope that there will be positive developments to announce, as appear to be emerging from the information I receive through the personal envoy,” he added. Asked about reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was expected to visit the occupied north on Friday, Christodoulides said he had no information beyond what he had read in the press regarding the possible visit. Asked whether the anticipated developments concerned the opening of additional crossing points, the president said discussions were broader in scope. He recalled that the initiative launched immediately after the UN secretary-general’s visit to Cyprus covered issues of methodology, substance and confidence-building measures. “The discussion is broader,” he stressed. He said, “the concern and desire of the Cypriot people are entirely justified.” “This is what I am working towards, which is why we continue to submit proposals and approaches that, yes, I genuinely believe can lead us to a resumption of negotiations, provided there is political will,” he concluded.