Μake us preferred on Google Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman met again on Tuesday, with the Greek Cypriot side presenting specific packages of measures aimed at advancing dialogue and building trust between the two communities.
The meeting took place at the offices of the UN Good Offices Mission in the UN-controlled area of the former Nicosia International Airport. It comes two days before the arrival in Cyprus of Maria Angela Holguin, the personal envoy of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, on October 29.
Three Key Proposals
According to diplomatic sources, 3 of the 19 proposals the Greek Cypriot side has presented in total dominated the discussion.
The first concerns the crossing points. Christodoulides submitted a new, alternative proposal in an effort to break the deadlock and reach a mutually acceptable agreement that would make daily life easier for citizens.
The second package covers the fenced-off city of Varosha in Famagusta, combined with the issue of direct trade. Christodoulides stressed that the proposal could bring multiple benefits to both sides and reaffirmed his willingness to push bold confidence-building measures aimed at society as a whole.
The third area concerned the Greek Cypriot side’s approach to the methodology of the talks, which is considered crucial for organizing the next steps of the process.
The government on Monday called for detailed discussions on how to make its Varosha proposal acceptable to the Turkish Cypriot side, rather than a focus on the reasons for rejecting it. Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the plan could deliver immediate, tangible benefits to both communities. Christodoulides also said on Monday that the proposal remained on the table and was different from an earlier initiative from 2005.
Wider Meetings
After their one-on-one meeting, the two leaders met jointly with members of the bicommunal Technical Committees on Youth and Cultural Heritage. They also met with members of the Civil Society Advisory Body, at the initiative of the Greek Cypriot side, underlining the importance of public participation in the rapprochement process.
At their previous meeting on October 20, the two leaders discussed confidence-building measures, the methodology of the negotiations and substantive aspects of the Cyprus problem. They also agreed to move forward with initiatives on the environment and the exchange of cultural heritage items.
Buffer Zone Concerns
Tuesday’s talks followed a meeting on Monday between Christodoulides and Khassim Diagne, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Christodoulides expressed the government’s growing concern over violations and attempted violations of the status quo in the buffer zone by the Turkish Cypriot side and called for such incidents to stop.
A Symbolic Gift
As the leaders arrived for the meeting, the UN presented each of them with a bottle of olive oil made from two olive trees planted on October 15, 2009, by then-President Demetris Christofias and then-Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat at the entrance to the negotiating venue.
The trees were planted before a round of intensive UN-backed direct talks, as a sign of the two leaders’ shared commitment to peace and reunification. Representatives of more than 40 Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot organizations attended the ceremony and gave the leaders a resolution backing efforts toward reconciliation and reunification. In 2019, to mark the International Day of Peace, then-UN Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar unveiled a commemorative plaque between the two trees.
Next Steps
Christodoulides is scheduled to meet Holguin on Friday. A trilateral meeting between Christodoulides, Erhurman and Holguin is set for November 9, as the UN seeks to create the conditions for a meaningful resumption of negotiations after years of stalemate.
