Cyprus issue and FYROM name dominate meeting between Kotzias and Guterres




The name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Cyprus issue as well as the reforms in the UN were the three issues discussed on Sunday evening (early Monday Greek time) at a meeting between Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Regarding the name issue, the foreign minister pointed out that “there is a window of opportunity” to hold talks on this after October, after municipal elections in the neighboring country, provided that irredentism is defeated.

Discussing the Cyprus issue, Kotzias expressed Greece’s will to continue the talks on the basis of the proposals “expressed by the Secretary General himself and on which we agreed.”

“We stressed,” the foreign minister explained, “the need to preserve what has been established by the only UN document,” which was presented on the last day of the Crans Montana meeting and related to the implementation framework of decisions on the abolition of the Treaty of Guarantee and rights of intervention. The text was submitted by the Secretary General and was “a good basis for continuing negotations,” Kotzias said.

In reply to a question, he stressed the importance of having an “open ended” negotiation process in efforts for the Cyprus solution going forward. This was a success of Greek diplomacy since the start of the negotiations in 2016, he added, which leaves open the possibility of continuing the negotiations provided that both sides want it.

ANA-MPA

Hellasjournal - Newsletter


%d bloggers like this: