Nicosia, Cyprus. A roadmap presented by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during his visit to Cyprus last week aims to establish a serious preparatory process before a productive enlarged meeting later this year, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman’s undersecretary Mehmet Dana said on Thursday.
Dana said the scheduled August 26 meeting between Erhurman and President Nikos Christodoulides would be the first step in that process.
Preparatory process
Speaking to the north’s public broadcaster BRT, Dana said the roadmap requires the two leaders to complete preparations and “homework assignments” to facilitate a new and productive five-plus-one meeting.
The term five-plus-one refers to an enlarged meeting involving the two sides on the island, the three guarantor powers of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.
Dana said that, if the preparations are completed, a new five-plus-one meeting would be possible.
August meeting
At the August 26 meeting, the two leaders are expected to begin exchanging views within the framework set by the UN secretary-general, Dana said.
He said discussions would focus first on confidence-building measures, followed by methodology and then substantive issues.
Meetings would continue after August 26 at a frequency agreed by the leaders, he added. Erhurman has called for weekly meetings with Christodoulides.
Turkish Cypriot position
Dana said the Turkish Cypriot side supports holding meetings as frequently as possible to allow meaningful preparations for a new five-plus-one process.
He said the side’s position remained unchanged: it did not seek negotiations or a five-plus-one meeting for their own sake, but a results-oriented process.
Dana said the Turkish Cypriot side would continue participating in the preparatory process to support a productive enlarged meeting within the framework outlined by Guterres.
