On Tuesday 17 July, the Cypriot foreign affairs minister, Nikos Christodoulides, announced that the new special envoy of the United Nations secretary general for Cyprus, Jane Holl Lute, would begin a tour of Cyprus and the guarantor countries and to the EU in order to assess the possibility of negotiations being resumed.
"She will start her visit on 23 July in Cyprus, where she will meet (Cypriot President) Nicos Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader (Mustafa Akinci), then she will visit Turkey, Greece, the UK and will come to the EU in order to explore the possibilities for the resumption of talks", Christodoulides announced during a conference on the geopolitical role of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean that was organised by AJC Transatlantic Institute.
According to Christodoulides, Lute is expected to conclude her meetings in mid-September and will then prepare a report for the UN secretary general. "We hope – and we will work in this direction – to have a resumption of the talks", he said, stating that the current status quo could not be the solution. "We cannot afford the luxury of a new failure", he said. Although he considered that a solution had never been as close as during the last negotiations in 2017 because the essence of the issue – security and the guarantees – had been discussed, Christodoulides recognised that the Greek Cypriots had not arrived at the international conference well enough prepared (see EUROPE 11825). "If we draw the lesson from this, it is it that we must be more prepared for the international conference than we were last time", he said.
Strengthening regional cooperation
Christodoulides also stated that a solution to the Cypriot issue would enable stability in the Eastern Mediterranean to be strengthened, a region in which the EU does not show enough interest, he regretted. "The EU should show more interest for the Eastern Mediterranean", he said. "It is the Union's neighbourhood, and it is a vital neighbourhood", he added, mentioning the challenge of migration and also of energy security and the fight against terrorism.
Cyprus worked with Greece and other countries in the region, especially Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinians, to create mechanism for trilateral cooperation. "For the many complex challenges the region, the EU and indeed the world faces, we are convinced that the answer is for all states to look outwards, not inwards; to address challenges decisively, collectively, through enhanced cooperation, and by fostering more synergies", Christodoulides said.
"I am convinced that the trilateral mechanisms are a first promising step to what can develop, when conditions are ripe, into a regional, institutionalised cooperation mechanism, and a regional dialogue serving the common goals of strengthening relations, promoting solidarity and mutual understanding between Europe and countries of the Middle East and the wider region", he said.
Christodoulides regretted therefore that the EU does not talk more to the countries of the region. "It is easy to be in Brussels (...) and to decide about the region without knowing its specificities (...) If you do not talk to these countries, we will not be able to address the issues or challenges", he said. When asked on several occasions about the strained relations with the EU and Israel, Christodoulides said he hoped their Association Council would be organised "as soon as possible" in order to discuss the difficulties between the two parties. The Council, originally planned for 28 February 2017, was postponed indefinitely due to Israel stepping up its settlement policy (see EUROPE 11720). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)