Nicosia: President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides expressed hope that the discussion during tonight's dinner with the Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman would be just as constructive as the one he had earlier this morning with the UN Secretary-General.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the President made these remarks upon departing from the Presidential Palace for the residence of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Cyprus, located at Nicosia airport, where the dinner is scheduled to take place. When asked if he was optimistic about the outcome of the dinner, President Christodoulides stated, "The only thing I would like to say is that I express the wish and hope that tonight's discussion will be as good as the discussion I had this morning with the Secretary-General."
Earlier in the day, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with President Christodoulides. Following their meeting, Guterres expressed his commitment to supporting both the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots during this significant period.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974 following Turkey's invasion and occupation of the northern part of the island. Numerous attempts at UN-led peace talks have not produced lasting solutions, with the most recent negotiations in July 2017 at Crans-Montana in Switzerland ending without agreement.