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Raffaele Fitto underlined the European Union’s intention to take on a significant role in the UN process on the Cyprus issue, following his meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, in Nicosia.
The European Commission’s special representative for Cyprus and Executive Vice-President of the Commission was received on Friday morning at the Presidential Palace, during his first visit to the island since his appointment.
“The European Union is sending a very clear message: that it wishes to work and to take part with a very significant role in the United Nations process,” Raffaele Fitto said after the meeting.
He stressed that it is important for the EU “to contribute positively to the process”, noting that the purpose of his first visit is to listen to the positions of the parties involved.
Fitto announced that he will return to Cyprus in the coming months and expressed the view that over the same period “very significant results” could be achieved.
“We want to follow the UN process clearly, because it is very important for us to make a significant and positive contribution in this way,” he said.
Next steps discussed
Cyprus’s Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, described the meeting as “particularly useful and constructive”, explaining that the next steps were discussed both at a practical level and in terms of the contacts Mr Fitto will have with the parties involved.
“We view his visit to Cyprus extremely positively. The timing is also very important, given that only a few days ago we had the Secretary-General here,” he said.
According to the Cypriot foreign minister, Nicosia believes that European Union–Turkey relations can be used to give fresh momentum to efforts to reach a settlement.
“EU–Turkey relations are an issue that can serve as leverage,” he said, adding that the appointment of an Executive Vice-President of the European Commission carries particular weight, as Fitto already has channels of communication with Turkey.
Mr Kombos also said that the Cypriot side has “thoughts, ideas and proposals” that are currently under discussion, as well as new proposals for a possible acceleration of the process before António Guterres’s term ends in December.
“There is potential for progress. We are working to create the conditions for that progress. But the answer to all these questions lies in Ankara,” he underlined.
Meeting with Erhürman
After his meeting with Nikos Christodoulides, Raffaele Fitto is expected to hold a separate meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.
The visit is taking place just days after UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s contacts in Cyprus and his intention to convene a new, broader meeting, provided sufficient preparation is carried out beforehand.
According to the European Commission, Fitto’s mission is to assist the settlement process under UN auspices, in close cooperation with the Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, and in contact with both sides and the other parties involved.
The Commission has declared itself ready to play an “active role” with the instruments and tools at its disposal, reiterating its support for a solution based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, in line with UN Security Council resolutions and the European acquis.