Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Tuesday called for the objectives and content of a possible expanded 5+1 meeting on the Cyprus issue to be clearly defined in advance, saying proper preparation was necessary for a meaningful outcome. He made the remarks after meeting United Nations Secretary-General’s personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin.
Meeting preparations
Erhurman described his discussions with Holguin as “sincere, useful and productive” and said efforts under way go beyond confidence-building measures to the core issues of the Cyprus problem.
He said it remains too early to determine where the process will lead, but added that preparatory work would be critical to ensuring any future conference delivers tangible results.
“We want a 5+1 meeting to yield a substantive result,” Erhurman said, adding that the shape of those results would emerge through ongoing preparations.
Possible summer conference
His remarks came as momentum appeared to be building around a possible expanded conference involving the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides and the three guarantor powers, the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey.
Holguin has confirmed that such a meeting is being prepared and could take place during the summer.
Three-stage process
Erhurman said the Turkish Cypriot side expects clearer indications regarding a new initiative by late June or early July and reiterated its preference for a three-stage process.
He said this would involve progress on confidence-building measures in Nicosia, agreement on the framework and procedures governing negotiations, and then a transition to comprehensive talks.
Timing and conditions
On timing, Erhurman said an expanded conference could take place in late June, July or later in the summer if preparations are completed, while stressing that readiness was more important than speed.
“If it is not ready by August, it can be postponed to September,” he said.
He added that the Turkish Cypriot side was “not interested” in what he described as “negotiation for the sake of negotiation” and suggested the UN was also seeking to avoid a repeat of previous rounds of inconclusive talks.
