President, Nikos Christodoulides, has expressed his readiness to attend a joint meeting with Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Rosemary DiCarlo, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar.
President Christodoulides was replying to journalists’ questions upon his arrival to a book presentation in Nicosia, on Thursday evening.
Referring to reports about DiCarlo’s arrival date in Cyprus, he noted that the date of February 10 is valid, adding that “official announcements will be made by the United Nations.”
At the same time, he clarified that DiCarlo will have separate meetings with the two leaders. “If there is a desire for a joint meeting, I am ready to make it happen,” he added.
Asked whether the possibility of a second meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, has reached a deadlock, President Christodoulides replied that “whatever Ms Di Carlo believes can be helpful, the response from our side is positive.”
He also said that he awaits Tatar’s position in relation to specific proposals that he submitted to the Turkish Cypriot leader during their first meeting “and regarding the checkpoints, whether for Pyla or for some other options.”
“If there is a response – I repeat – I am ready”, he stressed.
Asked if there is progress in what was discussed regarding the checkpoints, President Christodoulides replied that “if there was progress, I believe that the meeting would take place”.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
On October 15, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted an informal dinner in New York with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar, the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish occupied part of the ethnically-split island, encouraging “the leaders to consider how to bridge the gap in their positions and rebuild trust to allow movement leading to a settlement.”
At the meeting, President Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to have an informal meeting in a broader format in the near future, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to discuss the way forward. They also agreed to have a meeting in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings.
Α new meeting between President Christodoulides and Tatar aimed at building trust that included opening new crossing points across a UN-controlled buffer zone took place 20.1.2025 ended without an agreement due to Turkish intransigence. The two said in a joint statement that they have instructed their representatives to continue talks and that they would meet “in the coming days. A new meeting between the two is expected to take place soon.
Also read: Di Carlo to hold meetings in Nicosia on Monday
Source: CNA
