Nicosia, Cyprus. The government’s political will for progress on the Cyprus problem is “given and firm” ahead of a scheduled meeting on Monday between President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Tuesday.
Planned meeting in the buffer zone
The meeting will take place at UN special representative Khassim Diagne’s residence in the buffer zone.
Government aims to resume negotiations
Letymbiotis said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts to resume substantive negotiations on the Cyprus issue on the basis of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
He said the initiative follows recent diplomatic engagements, including Christodoulides’ meeting with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres in Brussels, where cautious optimism was expressed regarding the prospects for progress.
Call for corresponding response from all parties
“The intention for a substantive initiative requires a corresponding response from all parties involved to create the conditions for the resumption of talks from the point where they were interrupted,” Letymbiotis said.
“We emphasise once again, clearly, that our own political will is given and firm, with the aim of achieving substantive progress as soon as possible, through a process that will lead to substantive negotiations with perspective and results,” he added.
Letymbiotis described the upcoming meeting as a key opportunity to assess whether political intent can translate into concrete steps.
Background and recent criticism
The meeting is expected to follow the format of a previous encounter between Christodoulides and Erhurman held in February, which both sides described as “open and frank” but did not yield tangible outcomes.
Erhürman has recently criticised public statements by Christodoulides as “inconsistent, unfounded and unserious”.
Christodoulides cites discussions with Guterres
Christodoulides said he expects developments soon, describing his discussions with Guterres as “very substantive and very productive” and stressing a shared focus on the substance of the Cyprus issue.
What outcome do you expect from the scheduled meeting between Christodoulides and Erhurman?