President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman agreed “that the real aim is the solution of the Cyprus problem with political equality as described by the United Nations security council resolutions” during a joint meeting with UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin on Thursday, the UN said.
Meanwhile, Christodoulides left the meeting saying it had been held in a “very good atmosphere”.
The pair’s meeting lasted for almost three and a half hours, with the UN saying it included a “stocktaking discussion on previously agreed trust building initiatives”, as well as a discussion on new ideas.
“They agreed to concentrate on achieving new agreements as soon as possible, especially on the issue of the opening of new crossing points, the halloumi issue, and the construction of pipelines from the Mia Milia water treatment plant,” it said.
It added that the pair also “agreed to increasing the staff for services required at the crossing points”, and welcomed the European Union-funded works to widen the Ayios Dhometios crossing point in western Nicosia, while also “looking forward to its completion in the coming months”.
“Both leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to participate in the next informal meeting in a broader format to be convened by the UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres],” it said, with that enlarged meeting set to involve the island’s two sides, the UN, and its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Ahead of that meeting, it said, “they committed to continue to work in the meantime in Cyprus to produce tangible results for the benefit of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to ensure the success of the next informal meeting in a broader format”. “To this end, they expressed their willingness to meet as often as needed and instructed their representatives to continue their regular meetings,” it said.
