Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides reiterated once again that the Greek Cypriot side is going to an expanded Geneva meeting on the Cyprus issue in mid March with the sole aim of achieving a positive result.

In press statements on Sunday, following a the memorial service for EOKA hero Gregoris Afxentiou, in Machairas, the President said the UN secretariat informed them last night about the programme of the meeting which will take place March 17 and 18, adding that official invitations will be sent and announcements will be made within the coming week.

He said that the preparation on behalf of our side continues and they were informed about the discussions the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis had last week with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“We are going to Geneva with one and only goal, to achieve a positive result. And a positive result cannot be anything other than the resumption of talks or coming close to the resumption of talks,” he noted.

Invited to comment about Turkey’s positions for a two-state solution President Christodoulides noted that the President of the European Council Antonio Costa, had a telephone conversation with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and the they discussed three issues, the Syrian issue, the developments in Ukraine and the Cyprus issue.

“He (Mr. Costa) expressed the EU’s readiness to strengthen Turkey’s ties with the EU, stating very specifically, as he himself contacted me to inform me, that these ties are linked to developments in the Cyprus issue, on the basis of the agreed framework for a solution. Therefore, it is up to Turkey whether there will be positive developments or notm” he said.

The President noted once again that our side proceeds to the meeting with absolute determination and will do everything possible to achieve a positive outcome.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Parikiaki.com