Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos begins contacts in New York with the highlight Tuesday’s meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a bid to resume the UN-led reunification talks six years after they failed at Crans Montana.
During his stay in New York, Kombos will address an Economist Summit; on the sidelines, he will meet the US Assistant Secretary for energy resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, and hold separate contacts with representatives of the Diaspora and the American-Jewish Committee.
Kombos will deliver a key speech: “Reinforcing the 3+1 Alliance: Achieving its Potential”, during the annual Economist “Eastern Mediterranean Business Summit.”
He will hold a series of contacts at the UN Headquarters “with the resumption of negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem as the sole discussion item”.
On Tuesday, Kombos meets Guterres, while he will hold separate meetings with Jean Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, and Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the Foreign Minister will convey to the UNSG the “sincere will of our side, the Cypriot government, for the resumption of the talks within the agreed framework according to the Security Council resolutions.”
He said Kombos “will also convey the results of the initiative assumed by the President over a more active involvement by the EU and how this could support the UN efforts.”
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and other EU partners will have bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO Summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“The initial intentions (of the Turkish side) over the resumption of the talks will be revealed.
“The message we are sending at every opportunity is that we stand ready to contribute constructively in this effort through an initiative we have proposed, utilising our status as an EU member-state, and we hope that the Turkish side and or Turkish Cypriot compatriots will respond to the immediate resumption of the negotiations,” said Letymbiotis.
He said Kombos “will once more call on the UN chief to appoint an envoy the soonest possible, which we believe will have added value to the efforts we are making.”
