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With talks still frozen and UN patience wearing thin, President Nikos Christodoulides met on Tuesday with UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin amid growing pressure to show real movement on the Cyprus problem.
Holguin, the personal envoy of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, was blunt after the meeting at the Presidential Palace: progress so far has been limited, and without tangible steps on confidence-building measures, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to convene a broader international conference on Cyprus.
“There hasn’t been much progress,” Holguin said, noting that momentum now hinges on whether the two sides can move forward on practical steps that could reopen the door to negotiations.
Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis described the meeting between Christodoulides and Holguin as “very good,” saying the president laid out a clear and specific roadmap for restarting talks, one that builds on where negotiations left off at Crans-Montana in 2017 and stays firmly within UN Security Council resolutions.
According to Letymbiotis, Christodoulides is expected to formally present this approach on Wednesday during a joint meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, in Holguin’s presence. That meeting is seen as a key test of whether political will truly exists on both sides.
“If there is sincere political will, it will be proven at the negotiating table,” Letymbiotis said, stressing that negotiations should resume “as soon as possible” from where they were interrupted.
Still, there is clear friction over how that restart should happen. Holguin has indicated that Wednesday’s discussion will focus on Erhürman’s four-point methodology, something the Greek Cypriot side has repeatedly said raises concerns and crosses red lines if it shifts away from the agreed UN framework.
Asked whether the UN appears to be leaning toward Erhürman’s approach, Letymbiotis pushed back, saying there can be no selective or alternative interpretation of Security Council resolutions.
“There cannot be a different reading,” he said, reiterating that the only agreed basis remains a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as defined by the UN.
Confidence-building measures are also expected to feature prominently in Wednesday’s talks, though the government insists they cannot replace substantive negotiations. Letymbiotis pointed to proposals already tabled by the Greek Cypriot side, including the opening of a new pedestrian crossing, which he said has yet to be accepted.
Holguin, for her part, acknowledged frustration over the lack of movement on CBMs, saying she is “trying to push for more progress” and warning that without it, organizing a so-called 5+1 meeting, involving the two sides and the guarantor powers, would be extremely difficult.
Christodoulides, however, has made it clear he is ready for an expanded meeting “even tomorrow,” according to Letymbiotis, arguing that dialogue and direct discussion remain the only way forward.
The UN envoy is continuing her shuttle diplomacy, having met Erhürman later on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s trilateral meeting. Both Holguin and government officials say that meeting will be substantive, and possibly decisive, in determining whether Cyprus talks can finally move off pause.
As Holguin put it, the moment now calls for less positioning and more proof.
“Progress,” she said, “depends on the leaders.”
