President Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Erhurman hold meeting at UN offices

President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman met on Tuesday at the UN Good Offices mission in the Nicosia buffer zone. The meeting took place under the auspices of the United Nations, represented by the head of Unficyp, Khassim Diagne, and preceded upcoming engagements with the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin. Symbolizing historical efforts, the UN presented both leaders with olive oil from trees planted in 2009 by former leaders Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat.

Central to the discussions was a package of 19 proposals previously submitted by Christodoulides, which includes the reopening of the fenced-off area of Varosha under UN administration and the operation of the port of Famagusta under EU control. Although Erhurman previously rejected the Varosha plan, arguing it does not fully implement the EU's direct trade regulation, the president insists the proposal remains on the table as a mutually beneficial confidence-building measure. The meeting also featured joint sessions with the Technical Committees on Youth and Cultural Heritage and the Civil Society Advisory Body to discuss future cooperation. Christodoulides is scheduled to meet Holguin this Friday to further the dialogue on the Cyprus problem.