Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis expressed hope Saturday that the joint meeting between the leaders of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot community, scheduled for 11 December, will mark a decisive first step toward resuming negotiations on the Cyprus issue. President Nikos Christodoulides will brief the National Council immediately afterward on the outcome of the talks, he added.
Speaking to reporters following President Christodoulides’ meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, Letymbiotis described the discussion as ‘very good and constructive.’ He said the President had the opportunity to address both substantive issues related to restarting negotiations and the Confidence-Building Measures agreed during two previous multilateral meetings.
A central focus of the talks, he noted, was the upcoming joint meeting on 11 December with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar. Letymbiotis said Nicosia hopes it will serve as a starting point for renewed talks. He also highlighted the presence on the same day of EU envoy Johannes Hahn, calling the timing ‘a fortunate coincidence’ given the importance of the European dimension to the Cyprus problem.
National Council to convene Friday
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The President has convened the National Council for Friday, immediately after the joint meeting, to brief political leaders on the outcomes of the contacts, Letymbiotis said.
Responding to questions, he stressed that preparing for a multilateral conference is the purpose of Holguín’s visit.
‘Immediately after Cyprus she will travel to Athens and Ankara, she will also meet Mr Hahn while they are both here, and then proceed again to Athens and Ankara for contacts. Within this framework, the aim is to set a date for convening the multilateral,’ he said.
Letymbiotis reiterated that the government believes the multilateral meeting should be convened as soon as possible, noting that its composition allows-and effectively mandates-substantive discussion with the sole aim of resuming meaningful negotiations from the point where they were interrupted.
He added that the President is fully prepared and has answers on all issues, including the four points in Tufan Erhrman’s proposal. These discussions, he said, will take place before Holguín on Thursday, stressing that the goal remains ‘the resumption of substantive negotiations from where they stopped, in Crans-Montana.’
On whether specific proposals were put forward ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Letymbiotis said there had been ‘very concrete discussion’ both on the substance of restarting negotiations and on preparations for the multilateral conference the UN Secretary-General hopes to convene, as well as on Confidence-Building Measures.
Asked about Holguín’s optimism, he said he could not interpret the reasons.
‘We hope this optimism will translate into substance at the dialogue table and that this becomes a negotiating table as soon as possible,’ he added.
He also noted that Holguín’s several-day stay in Cyprus creates space for important contacts, while describing Hahn’s parallel presence on the island as ‘a significant opportunity.’ As for a possible additional meeting with the President before 11 December, he said nothing had been scheduled and that the rest of the envoy’s programme would be announced by the UN.
Regarding positions put forward by the Turkish Cypriot side, including Erhrman’s ten-point proposal, Letymbiotis said ‘everything has been studied’ but stressed that discussions cannot take place publicly. ‘To be constructive and effective, they will be held before Ms Holguín on Thursday,’ he noted.
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.
In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. An informal meeting in broader format is expected later this year.
María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.