Christodoulides Meets UN Envoy As Cyprus Proposes April Date For Talks With Erhurman

The disclosure came after Christodoulides received UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus Khassim Diagne at the Presidential Palace — the first such meeting since UNFICYP’s mandate was renewed last January. Letymbiotis said the date had been conveyed through negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, and that negotiations at the negotiators’ level are continuing.

The two sides discussed ongoing violations by the occupation forces in the buffer zone and the reversal of illegal actions in the fenced city of Varosha, with Letymbiotis pointing specifically to UN Security Council Resolution 2815 of 2026, which calls on Turkey to act. Christodoulides reiterated that UNFICYP’s presence is essential for as long as the illegal Turkish occupation continues, and that the government will cooperate constructively with the force to allow it to implement its mandate effectively.

The meeting also covered Christodoulides’s recent talks with Secretary-General António Guterres in Brussels in March. Letymbiotis described Guterres as personally committed to resuming negotiations from where they were interrupted as soon as possible, and said contact had since been maintained between the President and the UN’s personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Holguin.

Asked about Erhurman’s recent public statements, Letymbiotis declined to engage directly, saying Cyprus would not enter a public confrontation. The government would continue to uphold international law, the Constitution of the Republic and the goal of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality in line with UN Security Council resolutions and EU law. “We are ready, even tomorrow, to return to the table of substantive negotiations,” he said, adding that genuine political will needed to be demonstrated through public statements as well as actions.

On confidence-building measures, Letymbiotis said some progress had been made, but that crossing points remained the most complex area. The UN’s own mediation proposal on the Athienou crossing had not been accepted, he said, nor had a proposal on the Lidinis Street pedestrian crossing. CBM discussions were useful, he stressed, but must support rather than substitute for the broader effort to resume substantive negotiations — a position set out in the joint communiqué after last December’s meeting between Christodoulides, Erhurman and Holguin.

On the British Bases, preparations were continuing and an announcement would be made when there was something to announce. On the crisis measures announced this week, Letymbiotis said various scenarios had been prepared for possible extension, with Cyprus’s strong public finances allowing further targeted action if the regional situation requires it.