The outcomes of the second informal expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue are “in the right direction” Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said, speaking at the same time of “important results”.

In statements at UN headquarters, in New York last night, after the meeting  convened by the UNSG had concluded , President Christodoulides also said that there could have been even better outcomes “had there been the necessary political will”.

“We see a small but significant progress, step by step, in the direction of the great goal which as the Secretary General said is the resumption of talks and the solution of the Cyprus problem,” he noted.

He also said that it is important that the next meeting between the two leaders and the Secretary General has already been set during the General Assembly high level week, but also that the next expanded meeting will take place after the “election” process in the Turkish occupied areas of the island.

Asked when he expects discussions about the core issues in relation to a Cyprus settlement, the President said that the steps that are being taken “have their own significance”, adding however that the main issue is the resumption of talks.

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 due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

The informal meeting on Cyprus in broader format, in New York, was held following a similar meeting in Geneva, on March 17-18. There the two sides agreed to proceed with a number of initiatives, involving the opening of crossing points, the creation of a Technical Committee on Youth and other initiatives in the buffer zone and throughout the island.