Nicosia: President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides expressed hope that the document recording convergences on the Cyprus problem will be ready by the time UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy Maria Angela Holguin visits Cyprus on September 10, adding that the Greek Cypriot side considers the document a basis for the resumption of talks.

According to Cyprus News Agency, President Christodoulides referred to his meetings with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, expressing belief in a significant degree of common understanding on both substantive issues and methodology. Speaking after the inauguration ceremony for the redevelopment of the Meniko community center, he emphasized that the document should be distributed to the two sides and the guarantor powers to facilitate the process moving forward "as soon as possible."

'We hope that this document will be ready,' President Christodoulides stated, noting that the Republic of Cyprus sees it as 'a very good way to resume the talks.' He outlined that once an agreement is reached based on the document, the negotiating acquis should be safeguarded, and an expanded conference should be held to announce the resumption of negotiations on convergences.

Highlighting the process, he said, 'Once we agree on the convergences - we know very well where there are no convergences, where the differences lie - the negotiations should resume from the differences.' When asked about potential progress by then, the President replied, 'We hope so. We have a meeting this week with the Turkish Cypriot leader. I believe there is a significant degree of common understanding on substantive issues and on methodology. We also discussed confidence-building measures and I believe we are fully ready, also ahead of the General Assembly.'

Ahead of the UN General Assembly, the President mentioned being informed of the date and time for his bilateral meeting with the UN Secretary-General, who will also meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader. 'As we will all be there. after the official week of the General Assembly, we should move forward,' he said. He expressed readiness on the Greek Cypriot side and hoped for the same political will and positive response from all involved parties.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, following Turkey's invasion and occupation of its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have yet to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The last round of negotiations in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, nearing the end of his term, announced plans for another meeting in a broader format, pending adequate preparation, but did not provide a timeline. He secured consensus from both sides and the guarantor powers. Mar­a Angela Holgu­n, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked with engaging the parties, while Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.