President calls on Turkey to fulfill its Cyprus-related obligations

President Christodoulides noted once again that we will all be judged in this meeting, adding that he has conveyed from the first meeting to both the Turkish Cypriot leader
President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, has called on Ankara to fulfill its Cyprus-related obligations in the framework of its EU course.
He was replying to press questions on Tuesday on statements by Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that EU accession remains a strategic goal of this country, which were made almost at the same time with his own remarks that Cyprus EU Presidency will invite Ergodan and Turkish FM, Hakan Fidan, to the European Council and Gymnich in Nicosia.
The President noted that if these are not just statements, “then we are here to lead in this direction, which also presupposes specific developments in the Cyprus issue within the framework of Turkey’s Cyprus-related obligations.”
In another question about the developments on the Cyprus issue, the President said that we are fully prepared for the meeting on December 11 with the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Maria Angela Holguin. He recalled that he will meet Holguin on Saturday and he is going to the meeting December 11 with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman, having only one goal which is non other than the resumption of the peace talks.
President Christodoulides noted once again that we will all be judged in this meeting, adding that he has conveyed from the first meeting to both the Turkish Cypriot leader and the UNSG Personal Envoy that he is ready, even before the end of the year, to participate in an expanded conference that will lead to the announcement for the resumption of substantive talks.
Regarding the Cyprus Presidency of the EU, the President reiterated that this is a national mission for which we have been preparing for the last two years. He went on to add that taking into account the international developments, Cyprus Presidency will be a period with several challenges for the EU.
He reassured that we are fully prepared to assume this role successfully, to strengthen the strategic autonomy of the European Union on the one hand and on the other to bring the European Union closer to the region.
The President said that he was informed about several trips of the President of the Commission and the President of the Council to neighboring states, during the Cyprus Presidency, which is important and an indication of the new approach on the part of the Commission.
He said that we want to respond to these challenges that affect the daily lives of our citizens and that there will soon be specific announcements specifically on the housing issue, something that concerns the Presidency to a great extent.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: CNA