Eight years after the last agreement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides to open the Deryneia and Apliki checkpoints, and three hours after the new, joint meeting between María Ángela Olguín, Nikos Christodoulides, and Tufan Erhurman, Alim Sidik, Spokesperson for the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, announced the simultaneous opening of two new crossing points:
- Kampou-Karavostasi
- Louroutzinas-Lympia
Mr. Sidik also announced that a new Trilateral Meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres would take place in the coming weeks, referring to a “positive meeting” between the two leaders.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
As the UN Spokesperson noted, the two leaders will continue their discussion regarding the implementation of additional confidence-building measures, as well as substantive and methodological issues, while the Technical Committee on Crisis Management will receive guidance from the two leaders on establishing a rapid-response mechanism for emergency situations.
Finally, the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage will proceed, in parallel with its other activities, with the restoration of specific Maronite churches and an Armenian monastery.
Here is the press release:
Translation of the announcement:
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, held a constructive meeting today under the auspices of the United Nations Personal Envoy, María Ángela Olguín, in the United Nations Protected Area.
The two leaders continued their discussion on confidence-building measures, both in terms of methodology and substance.
They agreed to open the Louroutzina checkpoint toward Lybia and the Kampos checkpoint toward Karavostasi, which will open simultaneously.
The two leaders also agreed to proceed with the exchange of archival material through the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, as well as to promote environmental projects, which will be implemented by the Technical Committee on the Environment.
They further agreed that the “Imagine” Program will resume under the auspices of and in accordance with the recommendations of the Technical Committee on Education.
The Technical Committee on Crisis Management will receive instructions from the two leaders to establish a rapid response mechanism for emergency situations.
Finally, the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage will proceed, in parallel with its other activities, with the restoration of specific Maronite churches and an Armenian monastery.
The two leaders also discussed the opening of additional roadblocks, as well as other pending issues. Discussions on these issues—both in terms of methodology and substance—will continue in the coming period, as well as during a trilateral meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General, in the coming weeks.
