An enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem is set to go ahead in Geneva, with the island’s communities as well as three guarantor powers and the United Nations to be involved, Greek diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
The sources say Athens and Nicosia will be attending the meeting that is scheduled to take place on 17 and 18 March with the clear position that they will be dismissing any two-state proposal, as reported by Cyprus Mail.
Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis will be meeting on Wednesday morning (local time) with UN under-secretary-general for peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo.
DiCarlo has been in Cyprus to meet with both President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, having spoken with both this past Monday.
DiCarlo stated after her meeting with Christodoulides that discussions centred on preparations “for the meeting in Geneva next month”.
She added that she had assured Christodoulides of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “strong commitment … to work with the parties on this issue so that we can move forward”.
Tatar, in his meeting with DiCarlo, reaffirmed his stance on the prospect of negotiations, saying that the “sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people must be accepted” for there to be “constructive steps to be taken towards a solution”.
The enlarged meeting in March will see both Cyprus’ sides as well as representatives of the island’s three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the UN, convene to discuss the Cyprus problem.
