President Erhürman holds a press conference following tripartite meeting

The tripartite meeting between President Tufan Erhürman, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Christodoulides, was held on Wednesday at the United Nations Good Offices Mission in the intermediate zone.

President Erhürman was accompanied by Mehmet Dânâ, Undersecretary to the Presidency, and İpek Borman, Adviser on Diplomacy and External Relations.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was accompanied by Rosemary A. DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs; María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus; Tiyanjana Mphepo, Special Assistant; and Ruth Sigalus, UN Political Affairs Officer.

Following the tripartite meeting, Erhürman held a press conference at the Presidency. He said that they wanted a solution and believed that achieving one would require a different approach with the process being pursued through methods that would bring it closer to a conclusion.

President Erhürman said that the United Nations Secretary-General Guterres’ visit to Cyprus was an important and positive step that has strengthened hopes for progress on the Cyprus issue.

Referring to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s statement that “This time it will be different”, Erhürman described the tripartite meeting as positive despite the absence of concrete outcomes. He added that it would be important to take certain steps regarding confidence-building measures and methodology.

Emphasizing the importance of achieving meaningful progress in the methodology through confidence-building measures, Erhürman conveyed that the Secretary-General had indicated that an agreement had been reached with the guarantor states to hold a 5+1 meeting, provided that adequate preparations were made.

Erhürman also emphasized that he would continue to conduct the process in close and full consultation with the Republic of Türkiye.