Germany ready to contribute to UN efforts for Cyprus solution: Olaf Scholz

BERLIN

Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that his country is ready to contribute to UN efforts to reach a peaceful settlement concerning the Cyprus dispute.

Scholz underlined the importance of neighborly relations among countries in the region during a news conference in Berlin after meeting Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiadis.

“Germany strongly supports a bizonal and bicommunal solution in Cyprus. Of course, the basis for this would be the relevant UN resolutions,” said Scholz, referring to the dispute between the Greek Cypriot administration and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

“I hope that the stalled negotiations to solve the Cyprus question would regain momentum. Germany is ready to support the UN-led negotiations process, if it is requested,” he said.

The German chancellor also underlined that the Eastern Mediterranean is a region full of potential with energy resources and economic opportunities.

“Developing good neighborly relations in the Eastern Mediterranean region is in the interest of all countries,“ he said and expressed hope that problems in the region would be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Cyprus issue

The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexing the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union (EU) in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.