President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, spoke of a “very good and constructive discussion” with Tufan Erhrman, which will continue during the visit to Cyprus of Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Cyprus, María Ángela ??lguín.
President Christodoulides was speaking to journalists upon his return to the Presidential Palace on Tuesday afternoon after the meeting he had with the Turkish Cypriot leader.
According to the President, with a view to continuing the discussions in the presence of ??lguín, the two leaders agreed not to make any further statements on any specific issues and not to issue a joint communiqué.
He added that constructive joint meetings had taken place with the two Technical Committees on Youth and Cultural Heritage, and subsequently with the Civil Society Advisory Body, during which a number of views and suggestions were put forward, which will be discussed during the meetings with the Turkish Cypriot leader.
Asked to confirm that the fact that a joint communiqué was not issued was not the result of an impasse, President Christodoulides reiterated that this was a mutual agreement.
‘I repeat, it was a good and constructive discussion, which will continue while Ms ??lguín is in Cyprus, and I ask you – I fully appreciate your role – not to question me on any matter,’ he concluded.
A meeting between the President of the Republic and the Secretary-General’s personal envoy is scheduled for this coming Friday, and a joint meeting between the President of the Republic, the Turkish Cypriot leader and ??lguín has already been set.
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.