At their second meeting, held as part of the agreed-upon intensified dialogue ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York, took place today at the UNFICYP Good Offices Offices in the Nicosia airport area, the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
The meeting lasted just one hour, and when it concluded, Mr. Erhurman was the first to leave, while the President of the Republic remained in the building for a few minutes.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Upon his return to the Presidential Palace, Mr. Christodoulides raised the possibility of a joint, tripartite meeting between himself, the Turkish Cypriot leader, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres or his Personal Envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Olguín, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to be held in New York at the end of September. As she noted, the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the UN headquarters has already been informed of this.
Ms. Olguín explained that she would not be attending today’s meeting with António Guterres, which had been scheduled in New York, due to health reasons; however, the two will speak by phone.
READ ALSO: “We Can Make History”: How Christodoulides Responds to Erhurman and What Is Needed
Regarding the agenda for today’s dialogue, President Christodoulides said it focused on substantive and methodological issues rather than confidence-building measures, while areas of convergence and disagreement were identified, on which discussions will continue at both the negotiators’ and leaders’ levels.
President Christodoulides noted that he and Mr. Erhurman do not start from scratch every time they meet and that his personal view is that “we are ready to resume talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana.”
Regarding yesterday’s post—the Turkish Cypriot leader’s response to the President of the Republic that the two of them cannot make history due to the Greek Cypriot side’s alliances with other states— Nikos Christodoulides emphasized that he remains unfazed, is not straying from the goal of a solution to the Cyprus problem, and has no desire to engage in blame games.
READ ALSO: Erhurman to Christodoulides: “Making history together is anything but easy”
