Nicosia, Cyprus. Reports on Friday said there is no clear timetable for next steps on the Cyprus problem after this week’s tripartite meeting ended without agreement. A top Greek diplomatic source said there are no major developments creating momentum at present.
Assessment after the tripartite meeting
The Cyprus News Agency quoted the source as saying that after UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin met President Nikos Christodouildes and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Wednesday, there are currently “no major developments emerging which would create great momentum.”
The source said that confidence-building measures, as formulated at the last enlarged meeting in New York in July last year, are progressing.
The source said Erhurman’s election as Turkish Cypriot leader last October changed the circumstances, but echoed Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis’ statements on Thursday that the conditions are not yet ripe for a new enlarged meeting.
Possible timing for an enlarged meeting
The source said a next enlarged meeting involving the UN, the island’s two sides, and guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom could take place in the spring, adding that Holguin is making a great effort toward that goal.
UN priorities and calls for progress
The source said the Cyprus problem remains a high priority for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and that this creates satisfaction.
Holguin said after Wednesday’s meeting that for the time being there will be no new enlarged meeting, adding that results on the confidence-building measures are needed for such a meeting to be arranged.
Holguin said she is waiting for something more and, asked whether Christodoulides and Erhurman had responded to her demand for more progress made on Tuesday, said: “I think they might. Not yet.”
Later on Wednesday, it was reported that Guterres had been seriously disturbed by the lack of progress on the Cyprus problem since the previous tripartite meeting last month.
According to the reports, Guterres emphasised that the Cypriot leaders must urgently take steps to facilitate life between the two communities through confidence-building measures.
What steps would you like to see taken next to advance the confidence-building measures between the two communities?
