Geneva, Switzerland
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, thank you very much for your presence. At the moment in which we conclude the 5+1 talks on Cyprus here in Geneva, I want to express my deep gratitude — and the gratitude of all participants — to the Swiss authorities for all the facilities they have provided to guarantee the smooth development of our work in the difficult times we are living in with COVID.
As I believe you are aware, the position expressed yesterday by the Turkish Cypriots was that the many efforts made to solve the Cyprus issue over the years have failed, including the most recent attempt made in Crans Montana. They believe that efforts to negotiate the bi‑zonal, bi‑communal federation have been exhausted. They believe the Turkish Cypriots have inherent sovereign equality and an equal international status, and that the solution, in their view, should be based on two States cooperating with each other.
Similarly, the position expressed yesterday by the Greek Cypriot delegation was that negotiations should resume from where they left off in Crans Montana. They argue that talks should aim to achieve a settlement based on a bi‑zonal, bi‑communal federation with political equality on the basis of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Joint Declaration of 2014, the existing body of work, the six elements I presented in Crans Montana, and in line with the EU acquis.
As you can imagine, this was not an easy meeting. We conducted extensive consultations in a succession of bilateral and plenary meetings to try to reach common ground. The truth is that, at the end of our efforts, we have not yet found enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations on the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
But I do not give up. My agenda is very simple. My agenda is strictly to fight for the security and well‑being of the Cypriots — of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots — who deserve to live in peace and prosperity together. Being so, we have been able to agree that I will convene, in the near future, another meeting of the 5+1 — the five plus the United Nations — again with the objective of moving in the direction of reaching common ground to allow formal negotiations to start. We are determined to do everything we can to make this dialogue move forward and to ensure that, at some moment, it is able to reach positive results.
Question:
You said you are going to convene another such meeting in the near future. What will happen in between these two meetings? Will there be more meetings by Ms. Lute or someone else working with the parties to help ensure the next informal meeting will bear fruit and be successful?
The Secretary-General:
Of course, there will be consultations before the next meeting, as we had before this one, and our intention is to try to create as much as possible the conditions to allow the next meeting to be successful. Unfortunately, today we were not able to reach the agreements we would have wished, but we are not going to give up. We will continue our consultations in order to try to create the best possible environment for the next meeting.
Question:
Could you give us the timeframe as to when you expect this new round of talks to happen? And as a follow‑up, how do you square the circle that the United Nations — particularly the Security Council — has been in favour of a federated Cyprus, when one proposal on the table is calling for two separate States? How does the United Nations come onboard with that idea?
The Secretary-General:
First of all, in the discussion we just finished, there was an understanding that probably two to three months should be a useful timeframe. If it is too short, it will not allow for meaningful positive development; if it is too long, it will not help in our common search for a solution.
To square the circle is an impossibility in geometry, but it is very common in politics. As Secretary‑General, I have a mandate — and that mandate is given by the Security Council. So far, negotiations must be conducted based on that mandate. But in an informal meeting such as this one, convened without preconditions, it is useful for all delegations to express their positions. That will allow us to interact and move forward. I will obviously report to the Security Council on the different positions expressed in this meeting.
Question:
As one of the parties seems to contest the mandate by speaking of a two‑State solution, would it be time for the Security Council to convene again to either reinforce the mandate or reconsider its position?
The Secretary-General:
That is a question you should ask the Security Council. And by the way, the “pen holder” in relation to the Cyprus dossier in the Security Council is one of the delegations that participated in these talks.