Nicosia: President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, expressed his readiness for an upcoming meeting with the newly appointed Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman. He announced his intention to present suggestions aimed at fostering positive developments in the ongoing Cyprus issue.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Christodoulides made these remarks as he left the Presidential Palace for the residence of the UN Special Representative in Cyprus, Hashim Dian, where the meeting was set to take place. He emphasized his commitment to achieving productive outcomes, specifically to resume the peace talks that last took place in Crans-Montana.
The President stated, “I have several suggestions and approaches on how to create these positive developments towards this direction,” expressing hope that the dialogue would yield favorable responses from the other side and potentially result in ‘good news’ following their discussions.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974 after Turkey’s invasion and subsequent occupation of its northern region. Numerous UN-led peace negotiations have been unsuccessful, with the most recent talks in July 2017 at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, ending without resolution.