The Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman, will attend today’s meeting with a package of proposals that includes requests from the United Nations and the Greek Cypriot leadership; this package is intended to serve as a “bridge” and includes innovative elements, according to information cited by Yeni Düzen.
In today’s front-page story, the newspaper notes that the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, María Ángela Olguín, raised the stakes to the highest level by warning that “if there are no results, I will write my report and leave, and the 5+1 framework will collapse,” adding that the Turkish Cypriot side is coming forward with a comprehensive, transformative package “confidence-building measures” designed to “bridge the gap,” with the aim of overcoming the deadlocks at the negotiating table.
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According to information from Yeni Düzen, the Turkish Cypriot side will not limit today’s meeting solely to the issues of new crossing points and demining that have been made public. The delegation led by Tufan Erhurman, as reported in the article, will present a broad package of confidence-building measures, which takes into account the requests made to date by both the United Nations and the Greek Cypriot side, with compromise proposals that will serve as a bridge between the sides, as well as innovative elements that will be presented for the first time.
The report states that a key feature of the elements included in the package is their “bridge-building” nature. The proposals prepared by the Turkish Cypriot side, the report continues, cover not only the issues discussed so far at the negotiating table but also topics previously raised during the New York talks or outlined in UN reports.
The package contains compromise solutions to overcome the deadlocks, particularly on issues that both the United Nations and the Greek Cypriot leadership had previously brought to the forefront and called for.
It is also noted that the Turkish Cypriot side’s primary objective is to create concrete momentum through the working groups, to accelerate the dialogue on the ground and pave the way for a high-level trilateral meeting (2+1) attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and subsequently for a 5+1 meeting.
The Turkish Cypriot side adds that it does not wish today’s meeting to be limited exclusively to roadblocks, but aims to establish a comprehensive framework that will move the process into the next formal phase.
Yeniduzun reports that in interviews given by Ms. Olgin emphasized that the fate of the process depends on the leaders’ current willingness and issued a clear warning to both leaders, stating: “The first step on the path to negotiations is the MoUs; without them, there will be no 5+1. If there is no result at the negotiating table, I will submit my report to the Secretary-General stating, ‘absolutely nothing was accomplished,’ and my mission will come to an end.”
The newspaper reports that technical issues are on the table, such as new crossing points at Mia Milia, Louroutzina–Lybia, Pyroi–Athienou–Aglantzia, and Kampos–Karavostasi, as well as the demining of a 70,000-square-meter area on both sides in the Deryneia region.
However, the article notes that with the “bridge-building package” being submitted today by the Turkish Cypriot side, it is expected that the meeting will not be limited solely to the roadblocks but will evolve into a strategic process aimed at overcoming the broader political impasse within the framework of the UN.
Source: CNA
