Joint meeting in the UN-controlled zone
A joint meeting between President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman is taking place today at 11:00, at the residence of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus, located in the United Nations-controlled area.
The meeting is being held in the presence of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Maria Angela Holguin.
Focus on methodology and confidence-building measures
The meeting forms part of Ms Holguin’s visit to the island from 26 to 29 January. On Tuesday, the UN envoy held separate meetings with the two leaders and is now expected to attempt to bridge existing differences through discussions focused on methodology.
Speaking on Tuesday after her meeting with President Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace, Ms Holguin said that so far “there has not been sufficient progress,” stressing that without progress on confidence-building measures (CBMs), it would be very difficult to convene an expanded meeting on the Cyprus issue.
She explained that during the joint meeting with the two leaders, the methodology will be discussed, including four specific points put forward by the Turkish Cypriot leader in recent months. “This is the issue today [Wednesday], and I hope there will be progress,” she said, noting that otherwise “it is very difficult to organise a 5+1 meeting without progress.”
Asked whether a 5+1 meeting could still take place next month, Ms Holguin reiterated that this “depends on the progress made by the two leaders on CBMs.”
Government stresses political will
From the government’s side, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis underlined the need for today’s meeting to clearly demonstrate genuine political will to restart negotiations on the Cyprus issue, describing it as a substantial opportunity in that direction.
Speaking after Tuesday’s meeting between President Christodoulides and Ms Holguin, Mr Letymbiotis said the President had “a very good meeting,” during which he was briefed on the Personal Envoy’s contacts following her last visit to Cyprus in December.
He added that the President clearly and specifically outlined his approach towards resuming negotiations, while maintaining and building upon the achievements of the previous negotiating process. The same approach, he said, is expected to be presented at the joint meeting of President Christodoulides with Mr Erhürman, with the President putting forward a concrete proposal on how negotiations could restart.
At the same time, confidence-building measures will also be discussed, with the spokesman clarifying that while progress on CBMs is desirable, they cannot replace substantive talks on the Cyprus problem.
Also read: Holguín: Limited progress on confidence-building measures
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