Guterres crossing points plan set to top Christodoulides-Erhurman agenda

Politics 1974Antonio GuterresCyprus problemTop Newsun Guterres crossing points plan set to top Christodoulides-Erhurman agenda Prtalks24022026 3 1536x1179 Relevant News Guterres crossing points plan set to top Christodoulides-Erhurman agenda 18 August 2026 Pension reform talks begin as minister vows to push bill through by September 18 August 2026 Yellow warning issued for thunderstorms 18 August 2026 Andreas Bimbishis 18 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman will meet on August 26, putting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s crossing points proposal at the centre of the talks, philenews reports. Preparations for the meeting have already begun, and negotiators are expected to meet this week. It will be the two leaders’ first one-on-one meeting since Guterres’s visit to the island. The agenda includes what philenews describes as the “homework” Guterres left behind before leaving Cyprus, including the question of opening new crossing points. During his stay, the UN Secretary-General tried to secure agreement between the two leaders but did not succeed, as Erhurman was not in a position to accept Guterres’s compromise proposal. At a dinner with the Secretary-General, the Turkish Cypriot leader had not initially spoken negatively about the Guterres proposal, but the next day he took a negative position, while also arguing that he had not fully understood what the UN had proposed. During his visit, Guterres had proposed opening crossing points at Mia Milia and Athienou. For Athienou, he presented a variation of the proposal he had also submitted in New York a year earlier. President Christodoulides responded positively to the Secretary-General’s proposal as it was presented during the meetings in Nicosia. Erhurman was negative on the UN chief’s proposal, effectively maintaining the position of his predecessor, Ersin Tatar. Negotiators’ groundwork Negotiators will meet this week ahead of the August 26 Christodoulides-Erhurman meeting, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said. The President will approach the meeting constructively, aiming for a positive outcome on the crossing points, Letymbiotis said, speaking on CyBC. He repeated that the Secretary-General’s proposal for the simultaneous opening of the Athienou and Mia Milia crossing points needs to be taken into account. The recording of convergences by the United Nations has already begun and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, he said. Asked about the matter, he said there was no update so far on a visit to Cyprus by Maria Angela Holguin. Letymbiotis also noted that President Christodoulides will travel to New York at the end of September for the UN General Assembly, where he will meet the Secretary-General, though he said the meeting has not yet been scheduled. A dispute with the European Parliament Erhurman has also taken issue with the European Parliament, criticising its decision to erect a monument to Greek Cypriot missing persons. He argued the European Parliament had not shown the same sensitivity to the suffering endured by Turkish Cypriot missing persons. Speaking at a ceremony for victims in the village of Tochni, Erhurman said this amounted to “double standards that cannot be accepted,” adding that a “scandalous decision taken in the European Parliament” had left Turkish Cypriot missing persons almost ignored. Not a word on Famagusta In the occupied north, representatives of the regime react with irritation whenever reference is made to the return of Famagusta. The so-called “prime minister” of the occupation regime, Unal Ustel, pushed back against President Christodoulides’s reference to returning Famagusta to its lawful residents. In a written statement, Ustel claimed that references to “we will return to Famagusta” and demands to “return Famagusta,” which he called “Turkish territory,” amounted to “empty words that ignore the realities in Cyprus” and “hollow threats.” Describing the stance as “unacceptable,” Ustel criticised what he called the “provocative, unrealistic and hostile” statements made recently by President Christodoulides and “people close to him.” Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Pension reform talks begin as minister vows to push bill through by September Yellow warning issued for thunderstorms Third Larnaca drowning at unguarded beach as only 10 of 19 towers staffed Kalo Chorio fire: two probes reach Attorney General and army chief Cyprus mourns seven dead in five tragic incidents this summer Christodoulides, Mitsotakis, Macron agree to push cable project forward with navtex, French survey ships A wetter year rescued Cyprus’s dams, but key reserves could still run dry Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.