Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides has conveyed three potential dates for meetings with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Saturday. Letymbiotis said there has been no response from the Turkish Cypriot side so far.
Proposed dates and communication channels
Letymbiotis said the proposed dates are Monday, February 16, Wednesday, February 18, and Tuesday, February 24. The dates were communicated to Erhurman through Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou and Erhurman’s undersecretary Mehmet Dana.
Potential UN hosting
Letymbiotis said the meetings would be hosted by UN special representative Khassim Diagne if they take place.
Follow-up to tripartite meeting
After last Wednesday’s tripartite meeting with Erhurman and UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin, Christodoulides said discussions would continue and that Erhurman had expressed readiness to meet without Holguin being present if she is not in Cyprus.
Holguin’s position on next steps
Holguin said the meeting concluded without agreements and that no enlarged meeting will be arranged until progress is made on confidence-building measures. She said constant and direct dialogue is essential during the pre-negotiation phase and that both sides must continue efforts on trust-building initiatives before substantive negotiations begin.
What progress, if any, do you expect from proposed meetings focused on confidence-building measures?