Cyprus leaders to meet next Tuesday

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman will meet for the first time since last month’s turbulent United Nations general assembly week next Tuesday, with the meeting scheduled to begin at 3.30pm. The two sides had ended that general assembly week further apart than they started it, prompting UN Cyprus envoy Maria Angela Holguin to warn that “it is clear that the favourable window of opportunity we had throughout last year and earlier this year is gradually closing”. She also warned that “rising tensions in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean could have negative consequences for Cyprus”, and that “the diplomatic space which is allowing for the revival of dialogue may not remain open for ever”. Regarding her meetings with both Christodoulides and Erhurman during that week and conflicting statements regarding the prospect of a tripartite meeting of the two leaders and the UN in New York, Holguin stressed that “such a meeting was not planned beforehand”. Related Articles • Christodoulides accuses Erdogan’s Turkey of ‘new Ottoman approach’ • Stefanou: we have no right to let Cyprus problem fall into deadlock • Fidias says Christodoulides achieved ‘no substantial fruit’ on Cyprus problem • Annita: we do not have the result we would have wanted from New York • ‘Christodoulides may be only president not to negotiate Cyprus problem’ • Christodoulides: Cyprus talks not at a deadlock Instead, she said, she had informed Erhurman that Christodoulides wished for such a meeting to take place, and Erhurman had asked, “is there a new proposal which would make such a meeting meaningful?” She said that in response, she had told Erhurman that “Christodoulides had reiterated the proposals he had presented during the most recent bilateral meeting between the leaders in Cyprus”, and that Erhurman as such declined to hold a meeting in New York. This version of events was largely corroborated by Erhurman, who made reference to the seven issues upon which Guterres had demanded progress when he visited the island in July. “If there is a chance of reaching an agreement on a few of them, and if the secretary-general has time, I would participate in such a meeting. There was no reply to this message,” he said after his return to Cyprus from New York. ‘Delay tactics’, ‘throwing a spanner in the works’ The Greek Cypriot side, however, offered a different version of events, with Christodoulides last week accusing Erhurman of “insisting on a two-state solution”, and his chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou saying that the Turkish Cypriot side had followed a “pattern of obstruction” and employed “delaying tactics”. Another issue which came to light in New York was a letter sent by the Republic of Cyprus’ permanent mission at the UN requesting that foreign diplomats not meet Turkish Cypriots. Holguin said of the letter that such moves “absolutely” do not help efforts to create favourable conditions for negotiations to resume in earnest. “These things only complicate an already complex issue. Negotiations do not arise spontaneously, nor do they stem from a hostile environment. The process requires understanding and accepting the other side and its existence,” she said. Additionally, the pair clashed over Christodoulides’ 19 new points for discussion which he had raised during their final meeting before both headed to New York last month, with Erhurman describing them as “throwing a spanner in the works”. “In that case, let’s bin the seven points and have 19 points this time, and then I will bring 29 points at the next meeting. Of course, this will not lead us to a solution. This is an approach of a meeting for the sake of a meeting,” he said.