Christodoulides and Erhürman agree on weekly meetings

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman met on August 26 at the United Nations Good Offices premises in the Nicosia buffer zone. The meeting, which lasted over two and a half hours, marked their first engagement following UN Secretary-General António Guterres's visit to Cyprus last month. The leaders described the exchange as constructive and aimed at preparing the ground for a potential new '5+1' format conference, in line with the UN Secretary-General's recommendations regarding confidence-building measures, methodology, and core issues.

To maintain momentum, the two leaders decided to hold meetings at least once a week. The next session is scheduled for September 2 at 15:00. Additionally, both sides announced the appointment of five members each to the newly formed Steering Committee of the Civil Society Advisory Body. This initiative, supported by the UN, will involve 50 participants from each community to discuss everyday issues.

While the Greek Cypriot government remains cautiously optimistic, emphasizing the need for continued focus on substantive progress and noting that Turkey's contribution remains vital, Tufan Erhürman noted that recent negative developments have impacted mutual trust. Meanwhile, the main opposition party, DISY, welcomed the increased frequency of meetings but cautioned that this alone does not constitute significant progress toward a final settlement.