Cyprus President and Turkish Cypriot leader meeting to discuss new crossing points

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar are due to meet at 10.30am local time on 20 January at the residence of UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, in the UN Protected Area at Nicosia airport, to discuss the opening of new crossing points. 

The meeting is taking place following an agreement reached during an informal dinner on 15 October, 2024, hosted by the UN Secretary-General in New York for the two leaders. 

The Greek Cypriot side has already submitted proposals for the opening of crossings at Pyroi and Kokkina during the meetings of the negotiators of both sides with Stewart. The Turkish Cypriot side has referred to the opening of a regular crossing point at Mia Milia. In his recent report to the UN Security Council for the renewal of UNFICYP's mandate, Antonio Guterres welcomes the commitments made by the two Cypriot leaders on 15 October to explore the possibility of opening new crossing points.

"We are going with will and a constructive attitude to achieve progress in the meeting", the Government Spokesman told CNA on 19 January He said the necessary groundwork has been laid, with specific proposals and positions, "and we hope these will be discussed with the same sincere and positive disposition as ours".

In the meantime, an event was held on 18 January in Pachyammos, Paphos district, where residents of the region called for the opening of a crossing point in Kokkina. On 17 January Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot organizations held a joint event at the Ayios Dometios checkpoint demanding the opening of new crossing points.

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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

On 15 October, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted an informal dinner with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York, encouraging “the leaders to consider how to bridge the gap in their positions and rebuild trust to allow movement leading to a settlement.”

At the meeting, President Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to have an informal meeting in a broader format in the near future, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to discuss the way forward. They also agreed to have a meeting in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings.

(Source: CNA)