Nicosia: The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, announced a new meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhrman is set to take place. This announcement follows their recent meeting, after which the President plans to convene a National Council meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Cyprus.
According to Cyprus News Agency, President Christodoulides has already sent a written request to United Nations Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres to schedule a meeting in March. Following his return to the Presidential Palace, the President described an open and honest discussion with the Turkish Cypriot leader, where they reviewed progress on confidence-building measures and provided further guidelines to negotiators.
The two leaders also exchanged views on substantive issues related to the Cyprus problem, agreeing to meet again soon. The negotiators will set the date for this upcoming meeting. The President emphasized his ongoing communication with the UN Secretary-General and his intention to convene a National Council meeting to exchange views on current affairs.
When asked about the atmosphere and progress concerning confidence-building measures, President Christodoulides described the atmosphere as very positive. He noted that all measures and progress were reviewed, including specific crossing points, and guidelines were provided to negotiators to continue discussions.
Regarding previous proposals and the basis for a solution, President Christodoulides confirmed that these were part of the substantive discussions. When asked about a post by the Turkish Cypriot leader expressing complaints, he refrained from engaging in that discussion, reiterating his focus on resuming substantive talks with full safeguards for the negotiations.
The President affirmed there is willingness from the other side to start negotiations, with both leaders agreeing to meet again soon to create conditions for resuming talks. He recalled that political equality was reaffirmed in December based on United Nations Security Council resolutions.
On whether the issue of foot-and-mouth disease was discussed, the President replied negatively. Additionally, there was no intention to issue a joint communiqu© on the recent meeting.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 due to Turkey's invasion and occupation of its northern third. Despite repeated UN-led peace talks, a resolution has remained elusive. The last round of negotiations in July 2017 at Crans-Montana ended without conclusion.