Nicosia: Negotiator of the Greek Cypriot side, Menelaos Menelaou, and Mehmet Dana, representative of the Turkish Cypriot leader, are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for the upcoming December 11 meeting between the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman, as reported by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
According to Cyprus News Agency, the preparatory meeting between Menelaou and Dana is set for Wednesday morning and will focus on the joint meeting planned for Thursday. This meeting will include the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, Mara ngela Holgun, who has been on the island since last Thursday and has already conducted separate meetings with Christodoulides and Erhurman.
On December 11, prior to the joint meeting, both leaders are also expected to visit the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP).
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis noted on Saturday that the EU Special Envoy for Cyprus, Johannes Hahn, will be present in Cyprus on the same day, referring to this as an ‘auspicious coincidence,’ and underscoring the significance of the European dimension in the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue.
Letymbiotis expressed optimism that the joint meeting on December 11 will act as a crucial first step towards the resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
President Christodoulides has called for a National Council meeting on Friday to brief the political leadership on the outcomes of the latest discussions.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 due to Turkey’s invasion and occupation of its northern third. Numerous rounds of UN-led peace talks have yet to produce conclusive results. The most recent round of negotiations, held in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended without resolution.