Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Monday renewed his call for weekly meetings with President Nikos Christodoulides to complete the work outlined by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during his visit to the island last week.
Erhurman said the conditions for convening a new enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem were clear and required progress on confidence-building measures, methodology and the substance of talks.
Call for weekly meetings
Erhurman said Guterres’ statements following last week’s tripartite meeting were clear and did not require interpretation.
He said the Turkish Cypriot side had stated before Guterres and at a subsequent press conference that it was ready to meet Christodoulides once a week.
Erhurman said those who sought to attach conditions to a solution or prioritised the process over a result were “talking in vain”. He added that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready for a solution within the framework of its people’s will.
Conditions for enlarged meeting
Guterres said after the tripartite meeting that a new enlarged meeting would be convened after adequate progress had been made on confidence-building measures, the meeting’s methodology and the substance of the talks.
The proposed “five-plus-one” meeting would involve the island’s two sides, the three guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.
Crossing point discussions
Last week’s tripartite meeting produced no concrete agreement on opening new crossing points between the island’s two sides.
The discussions stalled over whether to divide a package of four crossing points agreed by all sides at the most recent enlarged meeting in New York last year.
The Greek Cypriot side proposed removing Louroujina, northwest of Larnaca, from the package and opening crossings near Athienou and in the eastern Nicosia suburbs of Mia Milia and Aglandjia.
The Turkish Cypriot side refused to discuss proposals that did not include all four agreed locations.
Prospective crossings at Athienou and Aglandjia would create a transit route for Greek Cypriot motorists travelling between Nicosia and Athienou. Due to the route of the Green Line south of Louroujina, motorists currently travel via Larnaca to reach the capital.
