President Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar are making final preparations ahead of a trilateral dinner meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on 15 October.
The United Nations is conducting extensive consultations with both communities gathering views on various aspects of the Cyprus issue, including potential confidence-building measures.
These meetings suggest the international body seeks to enter the upcoming talks well-prepared, possibly with proposals based on local feedback.
Following a National Council meeting, Christodoulides expressed satisfaction with the political leadership’s stance. “With absolute respect for any different approaches, I feel strengthened for the very important meeting next week,” he said, emphasising his aim to “create the conditions so that the dialogue can resume.”
Meanwhile, Tatar plans to visit Ankara for consultations with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz before the New York meeting. In recent statements, Tatar has maintained his position on a two-state solution, saying that “the only way to achieve this is through the cooperation of the two states.”
Despite Tatar’s rhetoric, Nicosia is waiting to see how the Turkish Cypriot leader will approach the dinner meeting. The prevailing assessment from the National Council meeting suggests that Ankara, rather than Tatar, will determine any future moves on the Cyprus issue.
Greek Cypriot officials are paying closer attention to signals from Ankara than to Tatar’s public statements, as they await clarity on Turkey’s intentions beyond accepting the dinner invitation with the UN Secretary-General.
