The meeting between President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, originally scheduled for Wednesday, 2 September, has been postponed at the request of the Turkish Cypriot side and rescheduled for 9 September at 10.30 am, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis has said.
Speaking to CNA, he also noted that Monday’s meeting between Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou and the Turkish Cypriot leader’s representative, Mehmet Dana, was also postponed.
The postponement was requested following Sunday’s shipwreck off the coast of Kyrenia, after which the Turkish Cypriot side declared a three-day period of mourning.
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.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. María Angela Holguín, Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.
(Source: CNA)
