The meeting between President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman concluded shortly after 12:30 pm, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Special Representative Khassim Diagne.
Before the meeting, President Christodoulides stated that he attended with the aim of restarting the negotiation process. He emphasised his readiness for a “sincere dialogue” to resume talks from the point they were suspended in summer 2017.
Clear objectives and readiness for expanded talks
Christodoulides highlighted that he approached the meeting with a “clear objective and clear pursuit” for substantive discussion on shaping the conditions necessary to restart the process.
He added that he is “fully prepared” to participate in an expanded meeting as early as next week that could produce concrete results. “Despite what is being said and written, I do not lose focus on the goal,” he stressed.
Process framework guided by UN resolutions
Referring to the negotiation framework, he reminded that the joint December announcement was issued by the United Nations and included explicit reference to Security Council resolutions, which was agreed by both sides. He reiterated that the goal remains a solution based on relevant UN resolutions, rejecting approaches outside the agreed framework.
Critique of previous period under Tatar
Christodoulides also alluded to the previous period under Ersin Tatar, noting that “considerable time was lost” due to Tatar’s support for a two-state solution outside UN parameters – a position “not accepted by anyone in the international community, nor by us.” Without speaking for anyone else, he expressed hope that the objective would be common and clear: resolving the Cyprus issue based on Security Council decisions.
Also read: Erhürman accuses President Christodoulides of “manipulation games”
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