Nicosia Positively Assesses Christodoulides-Erhurman Meeting

Nicosia: The meeting between President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman that took place on Wednesday is being positively assessed by Nicosia. Sources familiar with the matter told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that, despite the 'prevailing atmosphere' of recent days, the statement issued by the two leaders, referring to their intention to hold weekly meetings, raises hopes for the continuation of the process. According to Cyprus News Agency, government sources stated that both the duration of the meeting, which lasted almost three hours, with the greater part of the discussion taking place privately, and the intention to establish weekly contacts indicate that the talks were substantive and provide prospects for further progress. Furthermore, the expected visit of European Council President Antonio Costa on September 4, as well as that of the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, next week, are also expected to contribute to the process. A lthough the climate has not been favourable recently, due to a series of incidents, including various festivals in the occupied areas and interventions leading to their cancellation, as well as statements from the Turkish Cypriot side regarding claims of misappropriation of G/C property and other issues, Wednesday's discussion is nevertheless being assessed as positive. 'The prevailing atmosphere had led to expectations that we would be heading into a deadlocked meeting,' the same sources told CNA, noting, however, that the meeting proved productive and substantive. Also viewed positively was the leaders' agreement to hold weekly meetings, following extensive private discussions, with the UN General Assembly in New York in September seen as a de facto milestone in the process. According to the same sources, Nicosia's objective is to maintain intensive contacts until the General Assembly, while taking into account Turkey's role. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its norther n 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 broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. Maria Angela Holguin, 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.