President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman will meet at 4pm today with the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, to discuss the Cyprus problem.
President Christodoulides recently confirmed he wants the two leaders to create conditions that allow talks to resume from the point they stopped in Crans-Montana. He added that he stands ready to discuss confidence-building measures and will bring several new proposals.
Joint visit to missing persons committee
Before the meeting with Ms Holguín, both leaders will visit the Committee on Missing Persons together.
After the talks, they will attend an informal reception that the UN Special Representative and UNFICYP Head, Kasim Dian, will host.
Morning meeting with EU envoy
Earlier on Thursday, President Christodoulides will meet EU envoy for the Cyprus problem, Johannes Hahn.
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Wednesday that the President will approach the meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader with the same seriousness, constructive spirit, composure, and political will that define the Greek Cypriot side. His sole goal remains the restart of meaningful negotiations.
He stressed that the joint visit to the CMP Anthropological Laboratory will send a strong message: both communities remain fully committed to establishing the fate of missing persons.
Mr Letymbiotis also announced that President Christodoulides has called a National Council meeting on Friday afternoon, 12 December, to update political leaders on the outcome of his latest contacts.
EU role and next steps
President Christodoulides has long pushed for greater EU involvement in resumption efforts. The appointment of an EU envoy with a clear mandate now adds diplomatic leverage that previously did not exist.
Today marks a critical day for the Cyprus problem, with UN envoy Ms Holguín already on the island. The President aims to address core issues and secure the earliest possible date for the next multilateral conference, as the UN Secretary-General has indicated. The parties also plan to review progress on confidence-building measures agreed at the previous two conferences.
Also read: National Council after Christodoulides–Erhürman–Holguín meetings
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