New York, United States. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Thursday met former Disy leader Averof Neophytou in New York. The meeting followed Erhurman’s talks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a day earlier.
Meeting in New York
According to Erhurman’s office, Erhurman and Neophytou discussed “current issues and developments”. The meeting took place after Erhurman’s first meeting with Guterres on Wednesday.
Neophytou’s recent comments on confidence-building measures
Neophytou’s most recent intervention on the Cyprus problem came during UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s visit to the island last month, when he said Cyprus risks “being trapped” if progress on confidence-building measures between the two sides is not achieved.
In a social media post, Neophytou wrote: “The messages from the president’s [Nikos Christodoulides] meeting with Holguin are not encouraging. If we do not move quickly and without hindrance, we risk being trapped again, with the future of the Cyprus issue now becoming extremely uncertain.”
He earlier told parliament he wished to “send a message” to Christodoulides, saying: “Let him not get stuck on the issue of crossing points, because perhaps a crossing point could pave the way for substantive negotiations on the Cyprus issue.”
Erhurman’s position after meeting Guterres
After meeting Guterres, Erhurman said “our fundamental view was that solutions to confidence-building measures should be found in Nicosia, rather than through enlarged meetings”.
He said this point was reiterated during the meeting, adding that finding solutions in Nicosia would demonstrate the commitment of both leaders to improving daily life for Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots and increasing contact between them. “Therefore, finding solutions in Nicosia is crucial,” he said.
Status of crossing points
No crossing points have been opened between Cyprus’ two sides since the Apliki and Dherynia crossing points were opened in 2019.
What steps do you think would be needed to achieve progress on confidence-building measures between the two sides?
