‘Progress is possible’ on Cyprus problem, Christodoulides says

President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday said that “progress is possible” on the Cyprus problem, as he evaluated the meeting he held with the United Nations’ Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin earlier in the day. “It was a very good meeting, during which the 19 points we submitted were discussed, along with other ideas on how to generate positive news, positive developments, which could lead to the resumption of talks from the point at which they were interrupted in the summer of 2017,” he said. He added that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the next steps following his meeting with Holguin, before adding that it would be “really beneficial” if “more than one” meeting involving himself, Holguin, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman could be scheduled during Holguin’s current visit to the island. “We now await her meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader on Monday to see how to proceed. I believe, and I reiterate, based on our discussion, that I am, quite justifiably, cautiously optimistic,” he said. Related Articles • Holguin remains ‘optimistic’ over prospect of enlarged meeting before year’s end Asked about the matter of convergences reached in prior negotiation processes and the UN’s creation of a document recording them, he said that “I do not wish to disclose any substantive details”. “We are at a critical juncture, involving critical processes. Let us take a note of the fact that, justifiably, based on what has been discussed, we are cautiously optimistic, and we are hoping that this optimism, this cautious optimism, will translate into concrete, positive results,” he said. Holguin: Convergences document will be presented when negotiations begin Holguin had previously said of the convergences document that “the United Nations has reviewed several documents that may prove useful when the parties decide to resume formal negotiations”. Regarding their details, she stressed that “this compilation will be presented when negotiations begin” and will not be released beforehand. This decision, she said, was made because the UN’s position is that “we will not introduce anything that could give rise to further debate and serve to trigger further setbacks”. Of Friday’s meeting, she said that she remains optimistic over the prospect of an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem being held before the end of the year. “Yes, I am optimistic … If there are some advances in the [confidence-building measures], in methodology, and in some substance, and if we can get this, we are going to have the 5+1,” she said, with the term “5+1” used to describe an enlarged meeting involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN. Regarding Friday’s meeting and her planned meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, she said that “we are pushing and continue pushing”, and that “this is what the secretary-general asked of me, is until the last minute of his mandate, he wants to see if we can move forward on the Cyprus issue”. Incumbent UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will leave office at the end of the year, with it still not yet clear who will replace him. It was Guterres who had first that enlarged meeting will only be achieved “after adequate progress” is achieved on confidence-building measures, the meeting’s methodology and the substance of the talks.