Athens maintains regular contact with the leadership of the Cyprus Republic and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar. Despite Holguín Cuéllar’s mandate expiring last week, Hellenic diplomatic sources estimate that follow-up actions will continue, albeit informally, to outline the next steps in the process.
Greece strongly condemns the Turkish invasion and the illegal ongoing Turkish occupation of Cyprus for the past 50 years. Greece remains steadfast in resolving the Cyprus issue within the framework of UN Security Council resolutions. The same diplomatic sources highlight that the Cyprus issue is a major priority of Greek foreign policy. At this stage, there is an opportunity to restart dialogue.
Diplomatic sources note also that, so far, the dialogue with Türkiye has been based on a positive agenda and confidence-building measures. Under no circumstances have issues of maritime zone delimitation been discussed. Sovereignty issues are not discussed between Greece and Türkiye.
A long period of peace and calm can be achieved. However, its consolidation will only be realized when progress is made in the delimitation of maritime zones, diplomatic sources point out, noting that there will not be any progress in maritime zoning in the near future.
North Macedonia is clearly violating the core of the Prespa Agreement. Article 2 of the Agreement, according to diplomatic sources, stipulates that there must be a unified name for all uses (“erga omnes”). Statements made by both President and Prime Minister of North Macedonia are public and do not represent private opinions. The omission of the adjective “North” constitutes a violation of the core of the Prespa Agreement, as “erga omnes” was the main issue when the Agreement was signed.
The name “North Macedonia” is not subject to modification or revision. The memoranda will be ratified when North Macedonia shows full compliance with the core issues of the Prespa Agreement. However, their ratification is not an obligation arising from the Prespa Agreement, as no such provision exists, diplomatic sources conclude.
