President to brief National Council ahead of NY meeting, Spokesman tells CNA

Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, will brief the members of the National Council on Monday about the important meetings he held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, while there will be an exchange of views and the necessary coordination in view of the October 15 meeting in New York, Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, told CNA.

President Christodoulides will preside over Monday’s meeting of the National Council, which is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., at the Presidential Palace.

Speaking to CNA, Letymbiotis, recalled that President Christodoulides had stated that he would convene a National Council after his return from New York, where he attended the UN General Assembly.

According to the Spokesperson, the President of the Republic is to inform the National Council ‘about the important meetings he held in New York’, including his meeting with the UN Secretary-General and the representatives of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

‘Furthermore, ther
e will be a briefing and an exchange of views and the necessary coordination ahead of the October 15 joint meeting’, between President Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, in the presence of the UN Secretary General, he added.

Letymbiotis also said that the developments in the region would be discussed, ‘an issue in which the Republic of Cyprus plays a very important humanitarian role, in terms of the repatriation of citizens from the region to their countries of origin with the activation of the Estia plan, and the efforts made for de-escalation of the crisis.’

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: Cyprus News Agency