Trilateral meeting on the Cyprus issue held in UN buffer zone

President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman met on November 9, 2026, at 11:00 in the UN-protected buffer zone for a high-stakes trilateral meeting with the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin. The session aims to address the current deadlock in the Cyprus peace process, with potential for reaching agreements on confidence-building measures.

Ahead of the talks, President Christodoulides expressed a positive outlook, stating that the Greek Cypriot side had accepted the proposals presented by Holguin last Tuesday and was awaiting a reciprocal response. Meanwhile, Tufan Erhurman announced that his delegation would present a new, significant proposal intended to fundamentally alter the process's dynamics, alongside a package of "bridge-building" measures. The discussions reportedly cover the opening of four new crossing points, demining, and other substantive issues.

UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin has warned that failure to produce concrete results during these talks could cause significant damage to future negotiations and threaten the prospect of an expanded 5+1 meeting. The outcome of this meeting is viewed as a decisive moment that will determine the immediate direction of the diplomatic initiative and the possibility of resuming formal negotiations.