Joint meeting with UN envoy and Tufan Erhürman
President Nikos Christodoulides, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguín, hold a joint meeting today to discuss the Cyprus peace process.
President Christodoulides said the proposal focuses on five key points and addresses the core issues of the Cyprus dispute while also incorporating confidence-building measures (CBMs). He stressed that, with political will, the talks could resume from where they paused at Crans-Montana.
“If accepted, we can restart substantive negotiations and implement significant confidence-building measures,” Christodoulides said, expressing hope for a positive response.
Addressing methodology and prior issues
Christodoulides confirmed that the four points repeatedly raised by Erhürman have already been addressed. He emphasized that the Greek Cypriot side seeks to resume talks while safeguarding the gains of previous negotiations. If both sides accept the proposed convergences, he noted that 80-90% of the issues could be resolved.
“Starting from scratch would make it impossible to set realistic timelines,” he added.
He also rejected the idea of predetermined consequences, noting that neither parties nor the international community accept such measures. Regarding political equality, he stressed that the issue was resolved in the previous meeting and joint written statement.
UN Special Envoy emphasizes progress on CBMs
Special Envoy Holguín stressed that insufficient progress has occurred so far, particularly on CBMs, making an expanded 5+1 meeting difficult. She will address methodology and Erhürman’s four points in today’s joint session. Holguín indicated that the feasibility of a future 5+1 meeting depends on the leaders’ progress on CBMs.
Government stance
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis highlighted the importance of demonstrating genuine political will for restarting negotiations. He said President Christodoulides presented a clear, concrete approach to resume talks while preserving previous negotiation achievements. The discussion will include CBMs, though they cannot replace substantive negotiations.
Also read: Christodoulides Erhürman meeting held under UN auspices
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