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Another careful step, not a breakthrough, but not a breakdown either, marked the latest meeting on the Cyprus issue, as President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman met Tuesday with the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin.
Speaking after the two-hour session at the residence of the UN’s Special Representative near Nicosia airport, Holguin struck a measured tone. “I’m not disappointed,” she said, acknowledging that progress has been slow but ongoing. “All processes are dynamic.” She added that while no expanded conference is planned yet, dialogue itself is important, even if immediate results are limited.
Christodoulides, meanwhile, presented a five-point proposal he said could move talks forward. At its core is a reaffirmation of the agreed basis for a solution, rooted in UN Security Council resolutions and the principle of political equality, as referenced in the December 2025 joint statement. He stressed that the Greek Cypriot side has never questioned political equality, drawing a distinction from the previously contested idea of “sovereign equality.”
The proposal also calls for compiling and sharing all previous convergences and divergences from negotiations up to Crans-Montana. Internal issues agreed upon by both communities would remain, while external issues would be recorded where all five participants concur.
Using this convergence document as a foundation, Christodoulides proposed convening an official expanded UN conference to formally resume talks. And in a move likely to draw public attention, he suggested the opening of four new crossing points, at Kokkina, Louroudzina, Mia Milia, and Athienou–Aglantzia, noting that the Greek Cypriot side is ready to open Mia Milia “even today” and is prepared to act on additional crossings like Lidini Street in old Nicosia.
He also signaled the possibility of unilateral measures benefiting Turkish Cypriots at the time of the conference. Negotiators were asked to arrange another meeting between the two leaders within the next two weeks, this time without Holguin.
Holguin’s written statement noted that both leaders exchanged proposals on how to begin substantive negotiations and reviewed progress on existing confidence-building measures. She highlighted ongoing work on issues like halloumi and road-related measures, expected to advance in the coming weeks, but emphasized that more effort is needed before concrete agreements are announced.
