Guterres: “Leaders agreed on the need to reconvene the Conference on Cyprus in June”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has announced that President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades have agreed on the need to reconvene the Conference on Cyprus in June, in line with the 12 January statement from the first conference.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made a statement following the meeting he had with the two leaders at the UN headquarters in New York on Sunday.

Stating that all sides agreed that the chapter on security and guarantees is of vital importance to the two communities, Guterres emphasised that progress in this chapter is an essential element in reaching an overall agreement, and in building trust between the two communities in relation to their future security and co-existence.

“The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General, Mr. Espen Barth Eide, will engage with all participants in the preparation of a common document to guide the discussions on security and guarantees, based on the outcomes of the conference on Cyprus in Geneva and the meetings in Mont Pelerin”, said Guterres.

The Secretary General also added that the leaders had agreed to continue the bi-communal negotiations in parallel in Geneva, with a specific focus on the territory, property and governance, and power sharing chapters, as well as other outstanding issues.

Guterres stated that the leaders agreed that all issues will be negotiated interdependently, and that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, as per the joint declaration of the 11 February 2014.

“As a follow-up to this meeting, I will reach out to the other participants of the conference: Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom and the European Union as an observer” Guterres concluded.