The Greek Cypriot side arrived fully prepared with proposals to create positive developments and initiate substantive dialogue. The meeting is considered a crucial test of intentions for bringing the negotiation process back to the table, with a focus on a bicommunal, bizonal federation.

Tufan Erhürman has called for realism, noting that no spectacular announcements are expected but rather a mapping of positions. The meeting is also a test for the new UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Khassim Diagne, who is exploring the ground for resuming meaningful negotiations.

With a clear message that he attends his first meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman “with the sole aim of achieving positive results toward restarting talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana,” Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides departed for the residence of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative, located in the old Nicosia airport area, inside the Dead Zone.

This meeting, now concluded, was the first face-to-face between Christodoulides and Erhürman since the election of the new Turkish Cypriot leader and is seen as a critical test to determine if there is ground to resume the negotiation process.

Christodoulides and Erhürman are expected to make statements upon returning to their bases. The meeting was also attended via video conference by the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy for Cyprus, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar.

“We are fully prepared” with a package of proposals

Leaving the Presidential Palace, Nikos Christodoulides emphasized that the Greek Cypriot side came absolutely prepared. “We are fully ready. I am going with the sole aim of achieving positive results toward restarting talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana,” he said, stressing that Nicosia insists on continuing the process without starting anew from scratch. He noted he brought “several proposals and approaches on how these positive developments can be created,” aiming to open the way for meaningful dialogue based on the Guterres framework and UN parameters for a bicommunal, bizonal federation.

“I sincerely hope there will be a similar approach and response, and after the meeting, I will have good news to share,” he added, implying that specific confidence-building steps and ideas for a more active EU involvement in the process will be discussed.

Formally, the meeting is described as “ceremonial.” In practice, however, it is the first chance for Christodoulides and Erhürman to test each other’s limits and to see if public statements about commitment to the bicommunal, bizonal federation are backed by real will to break the deadlock.

Erhürman’s call for realism

Recently elected leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Erhürman has called in recent days for “realism” and avoiding “maximalist expectations” from today’s meeting, hinting no dramatic announcements are expected but rather an initial mapping of both sides’ positions.

The role of the new UN envoy

The Christodoulides-Erhürman meeting is also the first major test for the new UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Senegalese diplomat Khassim Diagne, who took office in October.

Mr. Diagne is tasked with determining whether there is common ground to recommend to Antonio Guterres the resumption of substantive negotiations, eight years after the collapse of the Cyprus Conference in Crans-Montana in July 2017.

Diplomatic circles in Nicosia estimate that, at least at this stage, his role will be more exploratory, aiming to document both sides’ positions in writing, identify possible convergences, and make recommendations to the Secretary-General on the next steps.