Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides said the substance of the Cyprus problem was discussed for the first time since the collapse of negotiations in Crans-Montana in 2017 during a tripartite meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
He said the discussion focused on specific issues and convergences reached before the Swiss conference, following his return to the presidential palace.
UN commitment and convergences
Christodoulides said he drew three main conclusions from his meetings with Guterres during the week.
First, he said the UN secretary-general remains fully committed to pursuing a solution based on UN Security Council resolutions. Those resolutions provide for a federal settlement to the Cyprus problem.
He said this reflected an apparent convergence, following Turkey’s support for a two-state solution after the 2017 talks collapsed and before Erhurman’s election last year.
Second, Christodoulides said Guterres is committed to preserving the convergences achieved in the lead-up to the Crans-Montana conference.
Prospects for an enlarged meeting
The president also welcomed what he described as a positive response from all sides to the convening of a larger conference.
He said such a meeting must be successful and that the Greek Cypriot side agrees with Guterres on this point.
Christodoulides said the Greek Cypriot side is continuing its cooperation with UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin and the European Union to prepare the ground for an enlarged meeting that could produce a positive announcement on resuming negotiations from where they stopped in Crans-Montana.
European Union role
He said developments during the week had clarified certain issues and created optimism.
Among them, he said, was the use of the convergences reached before Crans-Montana, which had been questioned last year.
Christodoulides also said the European Union’s role had been clarified. He said the involvement of the EU had been sought since he took office in 2023 and that the bloc now showed willingness and readiness to play a role in two directions.
