Guterres ‘eager’ to see Lute’s report to decide how to move forward

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he was ‘eager’ to review a report prepared by his envoy Jane Holl Lute, which will determine the international organisation’s next steps on the Cyprus issue.

“Like you, I am looking forward to her report, to see how we will be moving forward,” the UN chief told a press conference in New York ahead of the start of the United Nations General Assembly.

Lute was expected to inform the UN Secretary-General about the results of her meetings with the two sides in Cyprus, the three guarantor powers – Greece, Turkey and the UK – and the EU.

Meanwhile, sources said the Greek Cypriot side has been exploring various ideas with a view to averting a deadlock in Cyprus talks, should Guterres determine that there is no ground for a resumption of negotiations.

The sources told the Cyprus News Agency the aim of this proposal was to contribute to the continuance of the talks process, and that Nicosia insists on its position for the need for proper preparation prior to a new conference on Cyprus.

The same sources did not rule out the possibility that Guterres may ask Lute to hold a new round of consultations with the parties involved in the process for a Cyprus settlement, in view of the discussion to be held at the UN Security Council, on October 30, of the Secretary General’s report on his good offices mission in Cyprus, which he will submit in mid-October.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.