Cyprus leaders agree to weekly talks following UN intervention

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman held a constructive meeting on August 26, 2026, at the United Nations Good Offices Mission in the Nicosia buffer zone. The meeting, which lasted nearly three hours with much of the discussion held privately, marks the first such engagement since UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the island in July. The leaders agreed to intensify their diplomatic efforts by holding weekly meetings to bridge existing gaps and work toward the resumption of negotiations from where they were interrupted in 2017.

Key decisions from the session include the establishment of a regular meeting schedule and the announcement of the members of the Coordinating Committee of the Civil Society Advisory Council, set for August 27. The discussions focused on methodology, existing convergences, and confidence-building measures. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the UN-led process, with President Christodoulides noting the talks are on the right track.

UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin is expected to visit Cyprus in early September to assist in the process. The leaders intend to use the upcoming UN General Assembly week in New York as an informal milestone, where they will separately brief Guterres on the outcomes of their intensive consultations, aiming to create conditions for an eventual enlarged meeting on the Cyprus issue.