Guterres, Mitsotakis discuss Cyprus problem

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York to discuss the Cyprus problem, among other matters, the UN said. As well as the Cyprus problem, the pair discussed “the war in Ukraine, regional developments, and the situation in the Middle East”. The meeting comes amid heightened diplomatic traffic on the Cyprus problem in New York, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides already having met Guterres to discuss the Cyprus problem this week. Additionally, Christodoulides, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, and Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis have all met UN Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin, while Erdogan also met British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who, in turn, later met Christodoulides. Related Articles • Erhurman meets Holguin in New York • Guterres ‘considering’ three-way Cyprus meeting • Gerapetritis meets Holguin in New York • Erdogan tells Burnham of need for ‘equal international status’ for Turkish Cypriots • UN ‘continuing its efforts’ on Cyprus problem, Holguin says • Guterres, Erdogan ‘exchange views’ on Cyprus problem Holguin said after her meeting with Christodoulides that the UN is “continuing its efforts” on the Cyprus problem, but despite the ongoing diplomatic traffic, there has been no concrete progress made on the Cyprus problem since Guterres visited the island in July. Then, he had promised to hold an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN, “after adequate progress” is achieved on confidence-building measures, the meeting’s methodology and the substance of the talks. Christodoulides and Erhurman have met on three separate occasions since July, but no concrete progress has been achieved in that time, with the sides still in open disagreement over the meaning of political equality, crossing points, and the methodology of the talks. In addition, throughout the summer, initiatives had been taken by the Greek Cypriot side to cancel international events being held by the Turkish Cypriot community, including a children’s football camp organised by FC Barcelona and a music festival in Kyrenia. Erhurman warned Christodoulides against ‘undermining trust’ This prompted Erhurman to warn that such initiatives “undermine trust” between the island’s two sides, stressing last week that “if we wish to move the process forward, it is crucial to create the ‘conducive climate’ mentioned by Guterres”. Nonetheless, Christodoulides said after his meeting with Guterres that the secretary-general is “considering” holding a tripartite meeting with himself and Erhurman, but that “there must be a positive response from the other side as well”. Erhurman will meet Guterres on Saturday, and while Christodoulides is due to leave New York the same day, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Sunday that “we are considering extending our stay in New York specifically to make such a meeting possible”. Meanwhile, Erhurman stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side is seeking “a five-plus-one meeting where success is guaranteed in advance through preparatory meetings in Nicosia and negotiations which, in line with our people’s will for a solution, will actually lead us to a resolution this time”, with “five-plus-one” another term for an enlarged meeting. He said that his stance on the prospect of holding such a meeting “echoes the secretary-general’s statements, expressed both after Crans-Montana – that ‘this time must be different’ – and at his recent press conference – that ‘the mistakes of the past must not be repeated’”.