The President of the Republic reiterated once again the readiness to resume the talks from the point where they have been interrupted, in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council, on the basis of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation
The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulidis, expressed his sincere political will and desire to continue contributing to the creation of conditions for the resumption of talks during his first meeting with the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holgin, at the Presidential Palace.
In his statements after the meeting, Government Spokesman Constantinos Letymiotis said that the President of the Republic once again reiterated his readiness to resume the talks from the point where they were interrupted, in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council, on the basis of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation .
"We have reiterated our determination to come to this new period that opens before us with the appointment of the personal envoy, with sincere political will, to continue to contribute beneficially, so as to create the conditions for the resumption of talks," he said.
He also said that Mrs. Holgin informed the President of the Republic about the meetings she will have in the next period and about her program and there has been an exchange of views on the next steps that can be taken in the effort to restart the negotiations.
In response to a question about the contacts that the UN Secretary-General's envoy will have, Mr. Letympiotis said that on Tuesday Ms. Holgin will have a meeting with Mr. Tatar and in the following days she will have meetings with members of society, social groups in all the cities of Cyprus, in order to be able to obtain a global view, to be informed by the society itself about the situation as it is today in Cyprus.
Asked to state whether Mrs. Holgin will have a new meeting with the President of the Republic or a joint meeting with the President of the Republic and the Turkish Cypriot leader, she stated that the President of the Republic has reiterated once again that he is at Mrs. Holgin, "both for a second and a third meeting before leaving Cyprus as well as for a joint meeting with Mr. Tatar".
Asked if the President handed Ms. Holgin any documents, the Spokesperson said no.
In response to a question on whether the President of the Republic informed her about the actions of the occupying army in the dead zone, Mr. Letympiotis noted that Mrs. Holgin is very informed, both at the UN level, about all that is happening, the new developments at the level negotiations and public statements as well as developments in Cyprus.
When asked if there will be a permanent presence of associates of Ms. Holgin in Cyprus, the Representative said that the intention is to have a permanent presence of her associate in Cyprus, but also for her to make regular visits to Cyprus for a few days, so that the meetings can take place .
"That is, what we said from the beginning, that we believe regular, frequent contact with Ms. Holgin will be beneficial in this process," he added.
Answering a question if a timetable has been set for when it will be clear if this effort has a future, the Spokesperson said that "there is no timetable, there is no window of time. Of course, we believe that if there is the same political will on the other side, the resumption of negotiations can happen very soon."
Asked about the next steps, the Representative stated that after completing the first meetings, Mrs. Olkin will hold another meeting with the President of the Republic or, if she decides, a joint meeting with Mr. Tatar.
Asked what message Ms. Holguin conveyed from the UN Secretary-General, the Spokesperson said that her appointment as a personal envoy was itself a message from the Secretary-General. As he noted, this message from the Secretary General is his commitment to the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue, based on the resolutions of the Security Council.