President Erhürman meets Christodoulides

President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Christodoulides came together for a meeting hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General’s (UNSG) Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar.

The meeting took place in the intermediate zone at the residence of Khassim Diagne, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

President Erhürman was accompanied by Presidential Undersecretary Mehmet Dana, while Greek Cypriot Leader Christodoulides was accompanied by negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou. The meeting lasted approximately two hours.

Following the meeting, President Erhürman held a press conference in which he stated he could not characterize the meeting “productive,” but rather described it as “helpful.”

Erhürman emphasized that Greek Cypriot Leader Christodoulides accepted his suggestion to hold meetings between the leaders even at times when Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar is not present, adding that Christodoulides proposed holding a meeting in two weeks.

Erhürman said that Christodoulides stated, “We are partners and either we both succeed for our people or we both fail,” as they were leaving the meeting. “Our aim is reaching a solution and peace in Cyprus for the benefit of the people and the region,” he added.

Erhürman further stated that, throughout the process so far, both sides have exchanged their views, proposals, and areas of potential cooperation regarding the Confidence-Building Measures package, particularly the one presented by the Greek Cypriot side and put forward by Christodoulides at the second meeting.

The President also noted that Christodoulides had presented a five-point document described as a “new proposal package,” yet emphasized that none of its elements contained anything substantively new beyond what was already known.

Finally, Erhürman stressed that proposals regarding political equality and a time-bound framework should be addressed as priority issues, emphasizing that substantive negotiations should not proceed in the absence of agreement on these fundamental principles.