The Greek Cypriot side aims to create the conditions for an announcement on the resumption of talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana during Wednesday’s joint meeting between the two leaders and the UN Secretary-General, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said.
Speaking to reporters as he left the Presidential Palace for the UN Good Offices Mission in Nicosia, located at Nicosia airport, where he was due to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, the President said the aim was for announcements to be made towards the resumption of talks.
‘Our goal is to create the conditions and have announcements towards the resumption of talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana,’ he said.
He added that ‘step by step, we are seeing positive developments,’ noting that the outcome of the meeting should be awaited.
Asked about possible communication with Turkey as part of the Secretary-General’s efforts, President Christodoulides said that ‘there is certainly ongoing communication with Turkey.’ He noted that the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, had been in Turkey, while Guterres had held a telephone conversation on Sunday evening.
Asked whether the Secretary-General would hold another telephone conversation, he replied that he was not aware of Guterres’ telephone contacts, stressing, however, that ‘Turkey is certainly part of this effort.’
Referring to the visit of the European Union’s Special Envoy for Cyprus, Raffaele Fitto, the President said Fitto would arrive in Cyprus on Thursday evening and that they would meet on Friday morning.
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.
After informal meetings in 2025, followed by a hiatus of several months, deliberations are underway for a new meeting in broader format to be held, as the term of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres nears its end. 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.
CNA/HT/AGK/2026S,CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY