President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday he was waiting for Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman to respond to a new proposal on crossing points, and that some of the 19 proposals he has put forward had been rejected.
Speaking to reporters after returning to the Presidential Palace from his meeting with Erhurman, Christodoulides described it as a good meeting, most of which was spent on substance and methodology, with many questions and clarifications from both sides.
Crossing points
“There is a specific proposal on which I await a response. I made two alternative proposals. One was rejected, and for the second I am waiting,” Christodoulides said. Clarifications were requested on the second proposal, which he gave, and Erhurman asked to respond at their next meeting, he said.
Asked whether the proposals concerned Lidinis Street or the Athienou crossing, he said the Pyroi–Athienou crossing was a basic prerequisite and that the proposals involved new ones.
The 19 points
Christodoulides said he was awaiting answers on about six or seven of the 19 points, while some had been rejected. A rejection did not mean a proposal could not be put back on the table with further explanation, he said. He recalled that the Technical Committee on Youth had been his side’s proposal since taking office, when UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo visited Cyprus, and took two years to be accepted.
He declined to give details of the 19 points, saying he would make them public at some point so that the Cypriot people would know. “But because a discussion, a dialogue, is under way, I do not consider it right at this moment. We care far more about substance than communication,” he said.
Agreed initiatives
The two leaders agreed to proceed with initiatives on the environment and the exchange of cultural artefacts, the United Nations said after the meeting in the UN-protected area in Nicosia. They will meet again next week, probably on Tuesday, Christodoulides said.
The environmental initiatives come from the Technical Committee on the Environment and were proposed by his side, he said. On cultural heritage, Erhurman had asked for more time at their previous meeting and responded positively to the proposal to exchange some cultural property between the two communities, he said. The two sides will now exchange the relevant lists.
Holguin’s visit and an enlarged meeting
Maria Angela Holguin, the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, is due in Cyprus on 29 October, and a trilateral meeting is scheduled for 9 November. Christodoulides said several bilateral meetings had been arranged during her visit, which will culminate in the joint meeting, and that substance and methodology were expected to dominate. He would meet Holguin as often as necessary, would make daily meetings his priority if needed, and was ready to hold a joint meeting earlier if she considered it appropriate, he said.
Asked whether an enlarged meeting was now closer, he said the outcome would depend on two factors: the discussions on substance and methodology during Holguin’s visit, and the results of the European Union’s efforts. There was a very important meeting that day, he said, and the matter would be decided according to the outcome of these two parallel efforts. Asked whether he was referring to a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and European Council President António Costa, he said he did not want to say, as the EU had not announced it, but that they would be informed of the results later that day.
Asked whether he would ask the UN to provide a convergence document before negotiations begin, as was his side’s original position, he said he preferred to act first and inform afterwards, and would not answer the question specifically.
Before Holguin arrives, the two leaders intend to meet the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the Technical Committee on Youth and the coordinating committee of the Civil Society Consultative Body, according to the UN.
