The UN Secretary-General has encouraged Greece to continue to help sustain the momentum on the peace process in Cyprus.
The statement was made by the Secretary-General’s Spokesman after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met on Sunday at the UN Secretariat, on the margins of the 65th UN General Assembly.
In his remarks after the meeting, Papandreou offered full support to the efforts made by President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias to solve the Cyprus issue.
Rejecting the idea artificial deadlines, Papandreou said Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan should realize this.
The two men also talked about the 2010 Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, climate change, the Middle East issue, Iran as well as the issue of the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM).
“I have stressed once again that the I believe that President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias is a man who has every will and practically shows it daily, to achieve a solution to the Cyprus issue, to reunify Cyprus, through the UN decisions and acquis communautaire”, Papandreou remarked.
Papandreou said that Greece fully supports President Christofias’ initiatives adding that “outside pressure and intervention which are non-productive, do not help to promote a serious and substantive dialogue between the two communities”.
“Something that, of course, both the Turkish government and Mr. (Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip) Erdogan must be aware of,'' said Papandreou, adding that the powerful Turkish government and Mr. Erdogan, have many capabilities and one should anticipate that they will distance themselves from old customs and perceptions and substantively contribute towards a solution to the Cyprus issue”.
A Spokesman of the UNSG’s office said the Greek PM and Ban “discussed a range of issues, including economic recovery following the financial crisis, climate change, and regional political issues such as the Middle East peace process and Iran”.
With regard to Cyprus, he said, “the Secretary-General encouraged Greece to continue to help sustain the momentum on the peace process”.
A UN source said that without mentioning deadlines, the UNSG is referring to an intensification of the talks underway.
The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Demetris Droutsas and Greece’s Permanent Representative to the UN Anastasis Mitsialis.
Peace talks in Cyprus began in September 2008 between President Christofias and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. Talks continue now with Dervis Eroglu, who succeeded Talat.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third
