Christodoulides and Erhürman hold 70 minutes of talks in the buffer zone without a joint statement

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman met on Wednesday in the buffer zone in Nicosia, at the headquarters of the UN Good Offices Mission. The talks lasted about 70 minutes and ended without a joint statement: neither the leaders nor the UN announced anything following the meeting.

Three issues were on the table: resuming substantive negotiations, the methodology for a future expanded 5+1 meeting, and confidence-building measures. UN Secretary-General António Guterres identified these points as a condition for convening a new expanded format when he visited the island at the end of July.

The meeting was planned for 2 September but was postponed because of the ferry disaster near Kyrenia. At the end of August, the leaders agreed to meet weekly.

The sides exchanged sharp statements on the eve of the meeting. Christodoulides told the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeniduzen that he and Erhürman could “write history together” and added that the Greek Cypriot side had no Plan B. “The only possible solution is the reunification of Cyprus. The current status quo does not allow our country to fully use its potential,” the president said. Erhürman responded on social media that writing history together was “not at all easy” and referred to agreements with Israel and Greece which, he said, ignore the Turkish Cypriots.

Before the meeting began, Christodoulides reiterated his position: “If there is genuine political will, I believe in it, I repeat it, we can write history.” He described the division of the island as abnormal and harmful to both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

The UN separately reported on Tuesday that the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Cyprus settlement, María Ángela Holguín, had cancelled her trips to Cyprus and New York for health reasons and would brief Guterres on her work by phone.