Christodoulides and Erhurman to hold weekly meetings starting next Wednesday

Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman will meet next Wednesday, beginning the weekly meetings agreed during their meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the arrangement showed that the dialogue was gaining continuity and a steady pace.

Weekly meetings

Letymbiotis said Greek Cypriot chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou conveyed three proposed dates for the next meeting on Thursday morning, and that the Turkish Cypriot side responded immediately.

“The decision for more frequent meetings is already being translated into action,” he said.

He said next week’s meeting meant that “the dialogue is gaining continuity and a steady pace” and that the momentum already created would be maintained.

“Our will is clear. We will continue intensively, constructively and with a focus on the substance, utilising every opportunity which can lead us closer to the resumption of negotiations,” he said.

UN envoy visit

United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin is expected to arrive on the island at the end of the first week of next month, following the next leaders’ meeting.

Letymbiotis said preparations had already begun for a new enlarged meeting.

“The goal, as set by the UN secretary-general himself, is for this meeting to be successful, that is, to constitute the decisive step towards the announcement of the resumption of substantive negotiations from the point at which they were interrupted,” he said.

Prospects for talks

Letymbiotis said the Greek Cypriot side’s approach was “optimistic, but realistic”, adding that it did not underestimate the difficulties or discount the results.

He said that after a long period of stagnation, there was again more frequent contact, more substantive discussions and specific next steps.

“The aim is and remains for this mobility to acquire continuity, content, and results,” he said.

He added that progress between the two leaders was necessary but that the stance, will and contribution of the guarantor powers, particularly Turkey, remained decisive for substantive progress.