Nicosia, Cyprus. United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin said on Tuesday that “not much progress” had been made on confidence-building measures between Cyprus’ two sides since her previous visit. She spoke after meeting President Nikos Christodoulides and ahead of talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
Meetings with leaders and planned tripartite talks
Holguin said she hoped to “push for more progress” on confidence-building measures, with a meeting with Erhurman scheduled later on Tuesday. “I will see Mr Erhurman this afternoon and I hope there will be progress. So far, there has not been much progress,” she said.
She said a planned tripartite meeting with Erhurman and Christodoulides on Wednesday would focus on “the methodology” and “the four points that Erhurman put on the table a few months ago.” “That is the topic tomorrow, and I hope there will be progress,” she said.
Prospects for an enlarged meeting
Holguin said it would be “very difficult” to organise an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem if more progress is not achieved on confidence-building measures.
Asked whether another enlarged meeting involving the UN, the two sides, and guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom could still take place next month, she said it “depends on the progress of the two leaders on the confidence-building measures.”
Erhurman’s four points
Erhurman’s four points, sometimes referred to as “preconditions,” foresee that the Greek Cypriot side accept political equality, time-limit negotiations, and preserve all past agreements. They also call for the UN to guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.
What progress, if any, do you expect from the leaders’ talks on confidence-building measures?