Erhürman: “We Will Continue to Support the Secretary-General’s Efforts”

Ahead of his visit to New York, Erhürman stressed that, in line with the Turkish Cypriot people’s will for a solution, they wanted a results-oriented 5+1 meeting and negotiations that would lead to a settlement this time.

In a social media post ahead of his New York visit, Erhürman said he would meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguin.

Noting that this would be his third meeting with Guterres during his 11-month term in office, Erhürman said the Secretary-General had undertaken a number of initiatives and made assessments during this period.

Erhürman said Guterres had expressed his intention to convene a new 5+1 meeting following his visit to Cyprus, and that he expected meaningful progress to be made first on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues.

Erhürman said Guterres had proposed joint committees on crossing points, mine clearance, joint mechanisms for disaster response and combating irregular migration, the right of children from mixed marriages to EU citizenship, sports and civil society as part of the confidence-building measures.

He added that, at his latest press conference, Guterres had said there was still a lot of work to be done before a new 5+1 meeting could be held and that the mistakes of the past should not be repeated.

“WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN A 5+1 FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING A 5+1, OR NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE SAKE OF NEGOTIATIONS”

Erhürman said that, following the unsuccessful experiences of the past, they did not believe in “a 5+1 for the sake of having a 5+1, or negotiations for the sake of negotiations,” adding:

“We want a 5+1 whose outcome is secured in advance through the meetings held in Nicosia, and negotiations that, in line with our people’s will for a solution, will lead us to a settlement this time.”

Referring to Guterres’ statement after Crans-Montana that “this time must be different” and his more recent call for “the mistakes of the past not to be repeated,” Erhürman stressed the importance they attached to progress on confidence-building measures and methodology.

“In summary, we are in line with the approach of the Secretary-General. As we have done to date, we will continue to support the Secretary-General’s efforts within this framework for the remainder of his term in office,” Erhürman said.