Christodoulides seeks progress on 19 proposals at Tuesday meeting with Erhurman

Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides aims to advance his package of 19 proposals to restart negotiations on Cyprus at Tuesday’s meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Monday.

Proposals and expectations

According to Letymbiotis, the government anticipates detailed discussion of the package and answers on the matters it raises. He said there was also scope for progress concerning crossing points, stressing that each encounter between the two sides offered an opportunity to move forward.

The spokesman said the proposals address confidence-building measures, negotiating methodology and substantive aspects of the Cyprus problem. He explained that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had identified these three areas as necessary to advance towards an expanded conference.

Christodoulides presented the package at the leaders’ last meeting, Letymbiotis said. Erhurman withheld his position while he examined it further. The president also submitted the proposals to Guterres and Maria Angela Holguin, his personal envoy.

Framework for compromises

Letymbiotis would not confirm reports suggesting the package envisaged Greek Cypriots returning to Varosha under United Nations administration, alongside reopening Famagusta port with European Union supervision.

He dismissed suggestions that the government would offer concessions beyond the agreed framework. Any compromise, he said, must comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and previously achieved convergences.

While negotiations inevitably required concessions from both sides, Letymbiotis said these would not be offered simply for their own sake.

As an example of the Greek Cypriot side’s readiness to accommodate proposals that could deliver progress, he pointed to its acceptance of a compromise route for the proposed Athienou-Pyroi crossing point.