NEW YORK — A trilateral meeting between UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides took place Saturday evening in New York, aiming to break the deadlock in Cyprus reunification talks.
According to local media on both sides of the Green Line, Guterres expressed his intention to restart negotiations based on the framework agreed upon during the 2017 Crans-Montana talks.
He reportedly proposed holding an expanded meeting in November, following presidential elections in northern Cyprus, to establish conditions for resuming formal talks.
Several papers noted that the Greek Cypriot side attended the meeting prepared for all scenarios and reaffirmed its commitment to the UN-led process. Christodoulides, in a one-on-one meeting with Guterres, reiterated his support for restarting negotiations.
Following the trilateral meeting, Christodoulides acknowledged that no immediate progress was expected due to the upcoming elections in northern Cyprus, but emphasized that efforts would continue.
He said the goal remains to resume talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana, with the expanded meeting likely to take place before the end of the year.
Separately, Haravgi newspaper reported that Christodoulides, speaking at a dinner hosted by the Federation of Cypriot American Organizations, stressed the importance of realism and adherence to international law in securing Cyprus’ independence.
He described the island as being “under occupation” for 51 years and said his administration has worked to revive negotiations and re-engage international actors after a seven-year hiatus.
Christodoulides also highlighted the link between Turkey-EU relations and the Cyprus issue, referencing a letter sent by the presidents of the European Council and European Commission to Guterres urging renewed UN involvement.