Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades conveyed on Saturday (16/11) to the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy Jane Holl Lute the position of the Greek Cypriot side that there is ground for an agreement on the terms of reference and therefore this is something attainable, a source has told.

Anastasiades reiterated to Lute the Greek Cypriot side’s will to have an agreement on the terms of reference, that would pave the way for the resumption of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem and the position that this is something within reach, the source noted.

Moreover the President told the UN envoy that the Greek Cypriot side wants an informal five-party meeting (the two sides and the three guarantors powers, namely Greece, Turkey and the UK) to take place just after the meeting which Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will have on November 25 in Berlin with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the source said, adding that the five-party meeting could take place in December.        
 
According to the same source, the informal meeting in Berlin will have an open agenda and President Anastasiades and Akinci will have the opportunity to discuss with Guterres “about the next steps and how we are moving forward.”     

Lute had on Saturday seperate meetings in Cyprus with Anastasiades and Akinci in the framework of the preparation for the meeting in Berlin.

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.

CAN/ Maria Koniotou