The first meeting between the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, and the recently elected Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman, has concluded in Nicosia, lasting significantly longer than the anticipated 45 to 60 minutes.
The extended duration of over an hour and fifteen minutes is being interpreted as a positive indication of progress. President Christodoulides, visibly smiling upon exiting the meeting, spoke of positive developments and a concrete timetable for contacts between the two leaders next month.
Agreed-upon timetable and next steps
The United Nations (UN) announced that the meeting, which included the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Olguín, took place in a constructive atmosphere and focused on an agreement for further collaboration in December.
President Christodoulides outlined the specific schedule of diplomatic contacts:
- Olguín’s Consultations: The UN Personal Envoy, Ms. Olguín, will first visit Greece and Turkey for consultations.
- Olguín in Cyprus: She will then continue her direct contacts in Cyprus, scheduling separate meetings with Erhurman on December 5th and with President Christodoulides on December 6th.
- Joint meeting: This will be followed by a joint meeting between the two leaders.
- EU involvement: The special envoy of the European Union, Johannes Hahn, is also scheduled to visit Cyprus in December.
Focus on resumption and substantive talks
Christodoulides stressed that the core goal remains the resumption of substantive negotiations, indicating that the meeting today was a preliminary discussion and not a negotiation itself. “It is positive that we are entering a process aimed at the main objective, which is the resumption of talks from the point where they were left at Crans-Montana,” Christodoulides stated.
He emphasized that the current priority is to restart the dialogue, which will serve to address various recurring issues. He also mentioned that references were made to Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), particularly those promised to the UN Secretary-General. “I retain the understanding of the importance of resuming substantive talks; that is where we will all be judged,” Christodoulides concluded, adding that the UN envoy, Olguín, expressed satisfaction with today’s constructive initial meeting.
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