Christodoulides: “I Do Not Rule Out Significant Developments on the Cyprus Problem”

The Greek Cypriot leader began his New York contacts yesterday, while attention is focused on his meeting today with Maria Angela Holguin, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Cyprus.

According to Fileleftheros, under the headline “Focus on Holguin – President Christodoulides Begins Important Round of Contacts in New York,” Christodoulides started his programme in New York yesterday, but all eyes are now on his meeting with Holguin.

The newspaper noted that the Holguin-Christodoulides meeting is scheduled to take place after 1 a.m. Cyprus time. It also reported comments by Greek Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis regarding the Christodoulides-Abdullah meeting.

Letymbiotis said the two leaders discussed developments in the Middle East, bilateral relations, regional cooperation, and ways to strengthen cooperation between Jordan and the European Union. He said the two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to further developing existing cooperation in areas of mutual benefit.

According to Letymbiotis, Christodoulides thanked King Abdullah for Jordan’s support for the Centre for Aerial Firefighting (CRAFS) in Paphos and for the deployment of two firefighting aircraft, together with their crews, to South Cyprus during the summer.

Issues concerning cooperation between Jordan, South Cyprus and Greece were also discussed, Letymbiotis said.

He added that the two leaders discussed ways to develop cooperation within the framework of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Christodoulides also briefed Abdullah on developments regarding the Cyprus problem and thanked him for his support on the issue.

CHRISTODOULIDES: “I DO NOT RULE OUT SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS”

Haravgi reported that Christodoulides also met yesterday with the leadership and members of the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations, where he said there was a possibility of significant developments toward the resumption of negotiations.

According to the newspaper, Christodoulides said that, despite the prevailing atmosphere in Cyprus that no developments should be expected, he did not rule out significant progress. He stressed that the Cyprus problem was the main issue on his agenda during his contacts.

Christodoulides also said that US-based major companies were expected to announce investments in South Cyprus, claiming that the country was attracting significant US investment, particularly in the technology sector.

He said he would return to New York at the end of November and would hold meetings not only in New York but also in Ohio, Boston and Florida with companies interested in investing in South Cyprus.

Christodoulides also referred to the performance of the economy, increased defence spending and the strengthening of relations between South Cyprus and the United States, stressing that the two countries had the capacity to cooperate more closely.

Meanwhile, Alithia, in a commentary headlined “Went to New York with Proposals That Bypass Guterres,” wrote that UN Secretary-General António Guterres wanted to hear from Christodoulides about what progress had been made on the proposals he raised during his visit to Cyprus two months ago, rather than receive new proposals.

The newspaper recalled that Christodoulides had presented a 19-point package of proposals, some of them new, to the Turkish Cypriot side, while noting that the details of the proposals were not known.