Tsipras asks May’s support for ‘just and viable’ Cyprus solution

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has asked British Prime Minister Theresa May for her support in the effort to find a just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem.
According to an announcement released from his press office, Tsipras had spoken with May by phone.

“The prime minister outlined analytically Greece`s positions on the current developments of the Cyprus problem, in view of the multilateral conference in Geneva,” it said.

It added that Tsipras requested May`s “support for a just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of UN resolutions and the acquis communautaire.”

Earlier, the Athens News Agency, citing a government source, reported that Tsipras was also expected to have phone conversations with European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Apart from the fact that each of the three countries holds special weight, Athens and the EU, the same source had said, continue to maintain the steadfast position that the European Union`s participation in a multilateral conference in Geneva on January 12 for the Cyprus problem was an indispensable precondition.

A meeting which will take place between Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and the new UN Secretary General, António Guterres, is considered to be of crucial importance as matters of substance as well as procedure are expected to be discussed.

In the meantime, in view of the multilateral conference in Geneva, the Greek Prime Minister will brief Greek political party leaders on Monday.

The Greek government expects that a climate of consensus will be ascertained since at a meeting of the Greek National Council of Foreign Policy, which has already taken place, according to sources, the dialogue which took place was constructive and positive.

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.