Nicosia: Preparatory work for the next expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue is focusing on recording the convergences reached up to the 2017 Crans-Montana talks, while meetings between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot negotiators are expected to begin later this month, informed sources told the Cyprus News Agency.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the current phase of the process following UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres' recent visit to Cyprus is focused primarily on the substance of the negotiations, although discussions on confidence-building measures (CBMs) will also continue.
The most advanced CBM concerns the opening of two new crossing points, at Mia Milia and Athienou-Pyroi-Aglantzia. The United Nations has put on the table a compromising proposal on the routing of the crossings, splitting the route between the buffer zone and the Turkish Cypriot-controlled area. This proposal has been accepted by the Greek Cypriot side but not by the Turkish Cypriot side.
On the methodology for the next phase of the process, there is broad agreement between the two sides on the need to reaffirm the convergences already achieved and avoid reopening issues that had previously been agreed. The UN is expected to compile and circulate a record of those convergences to all parties.
Regarding the Turkish Cypriot demand for a timetable, the process is already following a sequence of agreed steps leading to the convening of a new expanded 5+1 meeting by the UN Secretary-General. There is room to address the Turkish Cypriot proposal on pre-agreed consequences, provided any arrangements strengthen the prospects for a successful process rather than create incentives in the event of failure.
No meetings have yet been scheduled between President Nicos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman. However, contacts with the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin continue and are expected to intensify after the summer break as preparations for the next stage of the Cyprus process move forward.
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.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in a broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. Mara Angela Holgun, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.