First meeting of Cyprus Group for exchange of views

The Cyprus Group will meet on Friday for the first time since it was announced last April. The meeting was convened by the Greek Cypriot Negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, following a decision by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.

The formation of the group was announced by Government Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis after the National Council meeting in April. Comprising 12 members, the group includes current and former MPs from various political parties, as well as legal experts.

The group's role is "advisory" and it will collaborate with a "legal team" focused on the Cyprus issue, which will be established and announced at a later time.

Friday's meeting takes place after the consent of the Republic of Cyprus for the participation of the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, in the Informal Council of EU Foreign Ministers on August 29th, and in anticipation of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, as well as a possible trilateral meeting between the UN Secretary-General and the leaders of the two communities.

According to information obtained by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the meeting will include a briefing and an exchange of views on recent developments.

The Cyprus Group consists of Panagiotis Demetriou, Chris Triantafyllides, George Koukoumas, George Loukaides, Christiana Erotokritou, Chrysis Pantelides, Stavros Angelides, George Georgiou, Menelaos Kyprianou, George Poizis, Christos Iosifides, and Kyriakos Tsimillis.

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.