The contentious issues in the eastern Mediterranean can be resolved “only through dialogue and on the basis of international law,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a teleconference with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, welcoming the announcement of the opening of informal talks on the Cyprus issue, mediated by the United Nations.
According to a government spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, regional issues were also discussed during the teleconference, as well as the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The chancellor stressed that the disputed issues in the eastern Mediterranean can only be resolved through dialogue and on the basis of international law. On the Cyprus issue, the chancellor welcomed the announcement of the start of informal talks mediated soon by the United Nations,” Steffen Seibert said in a statement, noting that Merkel and Erdogan had agreed that “the formation of a government in Libya under Abdulhamid Dhaiba needs the full support of both inside and outside Libya.”
Yesterday, Merkel had a teleconference with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, during which she also expressed her “full support” for the United Nations efforts for the settlement of the Cyprus problem in the talks at the end of April.
“A common basis for negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue should be explored there. In order to achieve this, an open spirit is needed, a compromise on both sides to make progress,” the chancellor stressed.
Source: ANA-MPA
