Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the Turkish Cypriot community is subject to “unfair and illegal isolation” and said it “should be lifted without further delay”. The meeting was their first since Erhurman was elected in October last year.
Meeting with Guterres
Erhurman’s office said the meeting was held “in a positive atmosphere”. It said the pair discussed “current and regional developments” as well as the Cyprus problem, including “the latest developments on confidence-building measures”.
Erhurman’s four points for restarting negotiations
Erhurman outlined four points he says must be met for negotiations on the Cyprus problem to recommence in earnest. The points, sometimes referred to as “preconditions” which Erhurman resents, foresee that the Greek Cypriot side accept political equality, time-limit negotiations, and preserve all past agreements, and that the UN guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.
Positions of other parties and next steps
Recent reports have suggested that Erhurman has won the support of the United States for those four points to be fulfilled, while some closer to home have appeared less supportive. President Nikos Christodoulides has appeared reluctant to acquiesce to the four points and said after last month’s tripartite meeting with Erhurman and UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin that “I answered this when I went there, about those four specific points”.
The tripartite meeting ended without result, and Holguin announced afterward that no enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem would be held until more “results on the confidence-building measures” between the two sides are achieved. An enlarged meeting would involve the island’s two sides, the UN, and the three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Greece-Turkey talks
Greece appeared positive toward progress during a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara earlier on Wednesday. Mitsotakis told Erdogan there was a “window of opportunity” for a solution to be found, while Erdogan made no direct reference to Cyprus but said they had “openly discussed our positions on the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean”.
What progress, if any, do you expect on confidence-building measures before an enlarged Cyprus meeting is held?
