Christodoulides floats joint New York meeting with Erhurman

Politics Cyprus problemNikos ChristodoulidesTop NewsTufan Erhurman Christodoulides floats joint New York meeting with Erhurman Image 72 Relevant News Cyprus students return to sweltering classrooms and missing textbooks 9 September 2026 Christodoulides floats joint New York meeting with Erhurman 9 September 2026 NHL co-owner becomes first non-career political appointee as US ambassador to Cyprus 9 September 2026 newsroom 9 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday that a joint meeting between the two sides and the United Nations could take place in New York later this month, after around an hour of talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman at Nicosia’s old airport. UN officials said no joint statement on the outcome of the talks would be issued. The meeting came a day after the UN said the Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguín, would brief him by phone about her work, having cancelled planned visits to New York and Cyprus for health reasons. The talks also followed an interview Christodoulides gave to Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeni Düzen on Tuesday, in which he said he and Erhurman could “write history” together. Erhurman’s response fell short of what Christodoulides had hoped for: the Turkish Cypriot leader said writing history together “is anything but easy.” Christodoulides returned to the theme as he left for Wednesday’s meeting, insisting the two leaders can indeed write history, provided there is political will on all sides. President’s remarks to reporters Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Christodoulides said: “It was brief, but substantial on the issues we discussed. We continued talking about the three areas: methodology, substance and Confidence Building Measures. On some issues we’re making progress, in that we see things the same way; on others, disagreements and different approaches remain. We’ll continue the discussion at our level next week, and before that there will be a meeting between the negotiators.” Asked whether there had been progress on the long-standing disagreements, he said: “On some points we see things the same way, for example on the importance of the convergences; on others there’s still disagreement, a different approach, which is why the discussion will continue.” A reporter noted that the record of convergences was meant to be ready by the end of August. Christodoulides replied: “From what we understand, it’s at a very final stage. It’s a matter of days to finish, and then we’ll see how the United Nations handle it.” He added: “I’d guess, based on what we know, that nothing is guaranteed yet, but there could be a joint meeting in New York, either with the Secretary-General or his envoy, at either leader or negotiator level. We’ll see. As soon as we have something concrete, we’ll announce it.” Asked about Holguín’s announcement that she would not travel to New York, he said: “She said she wouldn’t go today, when she had a meeting scheduled with the Secretary-General, and we understand from the Secretary-General, through our Permanent Representative in New York, that they’ll speak by phone today.” Asked whether the one remaining meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader before the New York trip would be enough to produce something to present to the UN Secretary-General, Christodoulides said: “This isn’t just one meeting on its own; it builds on the meetings that came before it, and on what the negotiators have discussed. So we’re not starting from scratch at the next meeting. The issues in front of us are very specific: on some we see things the same way, on others there’s disagreement, a different approach, and we’ll keep discussing those.” Asked whether the disagreement centred on the route from the Athienou crossing, he said: “Today’s discussion wasn’t really about Confidence Building Measures. It focused more on the other two areas, substance and methodology. We didn’t go into much detail on the CBMs.” Asked whether he was satisfied with how the methodology and substance discussions had gone, Christodoulides said: “I think it’s clear where we stand on both methodology and substance, and how we can move forward, how the conditions can be created to resume talks. That’s my personal view, since I can’t speak for anyone else, but as things stand, we’re ready to pick up talks from where they left off at Crans-Montana.” He continued: “I think it’s at the negotiating table that we’ll all be judged, myself included, on whether there’s genuine political will to solve the Cyprus problem.“ When a reporter pointed out that Erhurman appeared to see things differently, Christodoulides said: “No, I can’t speak for Mr Erhurman, or comment on that. He’ll speak if he thinks it’s necessary, and give his own views.” Asked whether a date had been set for his next meeting with Erhurman, he said: “We’ve exchanged some thoughts — it’ll be either Wednesday or Friday next week, but the negotiators will meet first.” Asked whether Erhurman had also raised in person what he’d written in a social media post, that writing history on the Cyprus problem wouldn’t be easy, Christodoulides said: “We discussed that too. I gave my view, he gave his. We talk about everything.” Asked whether Erhurman’s post had affected the mood of the meeting, he said: “Posts and statements don’t affect me, because I have a clear goal. I know where I want us to go, where we want to go, what we want to achieve. For us, there’s no alternative to solving the Cyprus problem and reuniting my country. So I won’t let anything pull me away from that goal, or get drawn into blame games or anything else that takes us away from the substance of the Cyprus problem, whether openly or not. Because that’s where we’ll all be judged, at the negotiating table.” Finally, asked about a report that a contingent from Egypt would take part in the October 1 parade, Christodoulides said: “There are consultations between the National Guard and the Defence Ministries. From what I’ve been told, there will be an Egyptian contingent taking part.” Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Cyprus students return to sweltering classrooms and missing textbooks NHL co-owner becomes first non-career political appointee as US ambassador to Cyprus Cyprus reveals 22 measures to tackle Limassol sea pollution Cyprus economy grows 3.3% despite Middle East pressures Guards cut for ex-speakers, widows after Law Office opinion Notorious Kinahan cartel linked to Cyprus twin murder plot, Irish Times investigation finds Paphos dam reserves surge as water shortage risk fades Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.