President Christodoulides said he was ready for a multilateral conference to discuss specific ideas and proposals with the UN Secretary General on how to achieve the fundamental goal of kickstarting settlement talks, noting that a new effort is now in place following the change in Turkish-Cypriot leadership.
'We really hope that this current effort will yield positive results, namely the resumption of talks where they left off at Cran Montana in 2017', the President added in off the cuff remarks following the Cyprus Presidency ceremony at Lefkara.
He further exptressed the hope that conditions in the Turkish side will soon be forged that can make a multilateral meeting possible and reiterated that he is ready whenever Antonio Guterres calls.
Asked by a Turkish Cypriot reporter whether he supported a post-settlement alternate presidency arrangement, Christodoulides stressed that governance is one of six fundamental negotiating topics, underscoring that all six issues must be discussed comprehensively and not in a fragmentary manner,
Commenting on a question by the same reporter on whether he was militarising the island by purchasing equipment and forging defence alliances, he categorically denied the Turkish claim, noting that the only military presence on the island is that of the Turkish army since 1974.
He further added that during trilaterals, Nicosia is always working on a positive agenda, adding that the close cooperation of Cyprus with other countries is not against Turkey.