Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman will travel to New York on Wednesday for separate meetings with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and his personal envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, as the United Nations assesses whether there is sufficient common ground for a new diplomatic initiative.
According to the latest programme provided, Erhürman will meet Holguín on Thursday, Sept. 24, and Guterres on Saturday, Sept. 26. He is expected to return to Cyprus the following day.
Greek Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis earlier placed the Erhürman-Holguín meeting on Wednesday, indicating a possible scheduling discrepancy. Both sides, however, confirmed that Holguín and Guterres would hold separate talks with the two Cypriot leaders and that no joint meeting had been arranged.
Erhürman told the ANKA news agency that he expected the New York contacts to produce substantive discussions on a roadmap for the next stage of the Cyprus process and perhaps some movement on confidence building measures.
No trilateral meeting bringing together Guterres, Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides is planned during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week. Nor has a new 5+1 meeting involving the two Cypriot sides, guarantor powers Türkiye, Greece and Britain, and the United Nations been scheduled.
Guterres has said considerable work remains to be done before another high-level gathering can be convened, while stressing that the United Nations remains committed to moving the Cyprus process forward.
Erhürman has said he does not oppose another expanded meeting but wants adequate preparation in Cyprus to ensure it can produce results. A meeting should not be held merely for appearances, he said after his latest talks with Christodoulides.
The New York discussions are expected to focus on confidence-building measures, negotiating methodology and the substantive issues at the heart of the Cyprus dispute. Holguín is also expected to brief the two sides on UN work to compile the convergences reached during earlier negotiations.
Turkish Cypriot sources said the two sides had reached partial agreement on six of seven confidence-building areas raised by Guterres during his July visit to Cyprus. These included cooperation on demining, natural disasters, irregular migration and sport, as well as arrangements concerning civil society and the citizenship applications of children from mixed marriages.
The main unresolved confidence-building issue remains the opening of new crossing points between the island’s two sides.
Christodoulides is due to meet Holguín at 6 p.m. New York time on Tuesday and address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. He will meet Guterres at 10:55 a.m. on Thursday.
The Greek Cypriot side said Christodoulides would present a 19-point package of proposals concerning confidence-building measures, negotiating methodology and the substance of the Cyprus problem. It wants the separate New York meetings to help create conditions for an expanded conference and has said Christodoulides is prepared to extend his stay if an opportunity for a joint meeting emerges.
Erhürman has taken a more cautious position, arguing that progress should first be made in Cyprus and that any expanded meeting must have a realistic prospect of success.
The most recent comprehensive reunification negotiations collapsed at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017. The latest UN effort has concentrated on rebuilding confidence and establishing an agreed procedure before attempting another full round of negotiations.
