Erhürman heads to New York for talks with UN chief

Mr Erhürman is scheduled to meet the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, on September 24, before holding talks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on September 26.

There is currently no prospect of a meeting in New York between Mr Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides. Neither a trilateral meeting involving the two leaders and Mr Guterres nor a wider informal “5+1” gathering is expected during the General Assembly.

Following a series of other bilateral contacts, Mr Erhürman is due to return to North Cyprus at 7.55pm on September 27.

In a written statement issued ahead of his departure, the President said this would be his third meeting with Mr Guterres during his 11 months in office, noting that the UN chief had undertaken several initiatives and made important assessments during that period.

Mr Erhürman recalled that, following his visit to Cyprus, Mr Guterres had expressed a desire to convene another informal 5+1 meeting involving the two Cypriot sides, the three guarantor powers and the United Nations. However, the Secretary-General had made clear that meaningful progress would first be needed on confidence-building measures, the methodology of a future process and substantive issues.

Among the confidence-building measures raised by Mr Guterres were the opening of new crossing points, demining, joint mechanisms to address natural disasters and irregular migration, the EU citizenship rights of children born to mixed marriages, cooperation in sport and the establishment of a joint civil society committee.

Mr Erhürman also referred to the UN chief’s recent warning that considerable work remained before another 5+1 meeting could be convened and that the mistakes of previous processes should not be repeated.

“After so many inconclusive experiences, we do not support holding a 5+1 meeting merely for the sake of holding one, nor negotiations simply for the sake of negotiating,” Mr Erhürman said.

“We want a 5+1 meeting whose prospects of producing results have already been secured through meetings in Nicosia, followed by negotiations that will lead us to a settlement in accordance with our people’s will for a solution.”

Echoing Mr Guterres’s remarks following the collapse of the Crans-Montana talks in 2017, Mr Erhürman said any renewed process must be different and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

“In summary, our approach is aligned with that of the Secretary-General,” he said. “As we have done until now, we will continue to support his efforts within this framework during the remainder of his term.”