The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, affirmed their commitment on Thursday to pursue a unified Cyprus solution based on political equality while agreeing to accelerate a range of confidence-building measures (CBMs).
The leaders met in Nicosia under the facilitation of United Nations Secretary-General Personal Envoy María Angela Holguín Cuéllar and stressed that CBMs are vital for creating a favourable environment but “are not a substitute to achieving a solution to the Cyprus problem,” according to a UN statement.
The discussion, which was held in a “positive and friendly atmosphere,” focused on ways to foster a climate conducive to a settlement, building on the shared goal of resolving the decades-long Cyprus issue in line with UN Security Council resolutions.
President Christodoulides and Mr. Erhürman agreed to concentrate efforts on swiftly reaching agreements on key humanitarian and practical matters, including the opening of new crossing points, the long-standing Halloumi/Hellim cheese issue, and the construction of pipelines from the Mia Milia/Haspolat Water Treatment Plant.
They also committed to increasing staff at existing crossing points and welcomed the upcoming completion of road widening at the Agios Dometios/Metehan crossing point.
Furthermore, both leaders reaffirmed their willingness to participate in the next informal meeting in a broader format, which is to be convened by the UN Secretary-General.
They pledged to continue working in Cyprus to produce “tangible results for the benefit of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots” ahead of the international meeting. To this end, they agreed to meet “as often as needed” and instructed their representatives to maintain regular consultations.
Prior to their discussion, the leaders visited the anthropological laboratory of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus, a critical effort since the 1963-64 intercommunal fighting and the 1974 Turkish invasion.
They praised the CMP’s effective humanitarian work and urged that the process remain free from political interference. They also issued a joint appeal for anyone with information about potential burial sites to confidentially share details with the CMP.