The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades met with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday at Maximos Mansion in Athens.
The two leaders focused their discussions on the upcoming Geneva talks on the Cyprus issue, which will be held next week.
The meeting was also attended by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides, Cypriot Government Spokesman Kyriakos Kousios, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens Kyriakos Kenevezos and Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Kyriakos Kouros.
Με τον @primeministerGR συμφωνήσαμε ότι τα πλαίσια μέσα στα οποία θα διαπραγματευτούμε καθορίζονται από τα ψηφίσματα των ΗΕ, από τις αποφάσεις του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας, τις αρχές και αξίες της ΕΕ. pic.twitter.com/EoAegtuJZx
— Nicos Anastasiades (@AnastasiadesCY) April 21, 2021
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades described the Geneva meeting as an “important effort” that would allow U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres “to look into the issue in order to have a dialogue and solve the problem.”
“We are not trying to usurp anyone’s rights. Our effort is to find a way for both communities to feel safe and for the human rights of both communities to be guaranteed,” Anastasiades added.
He also agreed that “the framework to be negotiated is determined by the UN resolutions, the decisions of the UN Security Council, as well as the principles and values of the European Union, and were last set out in the efforts to resume the 2019 dialogue in Berlin in the presence of the UN Secretary General and Mr. Akinci.”
On his part, the Greek Prime Minister noted that the discussions that will take place in Geneva is absolutely clear as “it is based on all previous decisions of the [United Nation’s] Security Council.”
“The solution can be found only in the context of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, a single sovereignty, a single citizenship, a single international representation and, of course, with the withdrawal of the occupying armies, but also the elimination of the anachronistic framework of guarantees,” Mitsotakis added.
“It is absolutely clear that we must be able to determine in these difficult discussions what is the starting point from which we begin. That is why today, as we did in Cyprus, we will be given the opportunity to coordinate our actions in view of these demanding discussions, to which we always come with a good will to find a solution that will be fair, functional and viable and will benefit all Cypriots, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.”
Next week, the Geneva talks will be attended by representatives of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, the three guarantor powers — Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom — and the United Nations.
They come after a hiatus of more than three years in negotiations aiming to resolve the island’s decades-long division.
*More on GCT: Anastasiades and Macron discuss Cyprus issue, Cypriot-French cooperation
