Erhurman calls for guaranteed success before next Cyprus meeting

Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Tuesday that the next enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem should be held only after preparatory work has ensured its success. His comments came ahead of his planned trip to New York for the United Nations high-level week.

New York meetings

Erhurman is due to travel to New York on Wednesday and is expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin and other officials.

He said the meeting with Guterres would be their third during his 11-month tenure.

Conditions for an enlarged meeting

Erhurman said Guterres had indicated that an enlarged meeting would be held after sufficient progress was made during the secretary-general’s visit to Cyprus in July.

He said progress should be achieved on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues, in that order.

According to Erhurman, Guterres had proposed confidence-building initiatives concerning crossing points, mine clearance, joint mechanisms to combat disasters and irregular migration, EU citizenship rights for children of mixed marriages, sports and a joint civil society committee.

Call for preparation

Erhurman said Guterres had ruled out holding an enlarged meeting in New York this week, stating that significant work remained and that past mistakes should not be repeated.

He said a five-plus-one meeting should not be pursued solely for the purpose of holding one, nor should negotiations take place merely for the sake of negotiating.

Instead, he said, preparatory meetings in Nicosia should ensure in advance that a five-plus-one meeting can succeed and lead to a resolution in line with the will of the Turkish Cypriot community.

Erhurman said his position reflected Guterres’ remarks after Crans-Montana that “this time must be different” and his recent statement that past mistakes must not be repeated.