President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman will hold their first joint meeting on the afternoon of Monday, 6 March following their separate meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
It is recalled that Erhürman met Guterres on 11 February in New York, while President Christodoulides held his meeting with the UNSG more recently, on 18 March in Brussels.
According to a government source who spoke to CNA, the two leaders are expected to exchange views on the content of their discussions with the Secretary-General and on how the United Nations assesses the prospects for progress on the Cyprus issue.
The same source said the meeting will also focus on possible ways forward in the process, noting that regular contacts between the two leaders are considered helpful.
This afternoon's meeting, which is set to begin at 4.30pm, will be their first joint engagement following their separate contacts with Guterres.
The last tête-à-tête meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman took place on 24 February and was concluded without a joint statement. Earlier this year, the two leaders also met on 28 January.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. An informal meeting in a broader format that was expected to take place before the end of 2025, is yet to be announced. María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties.
(Source: CNA)
