Yiannis Ioannou
December 11th turned out to be a surprisingly good day for the Cyprus issue, the kind of day diplomats quietly hope for but rarely get. After six long years, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman finally sat down together in front of a UN Secretary-General envoy, marking a small but meaningful shift in momentum.
Maria Angela Holguín, the UN chief’s personal envoy for Cyprus, met both leaders twice on Wednesday: first during a joint visit to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), and later at a formal trilateral meeting. The day wrapped on a festive note, with Christodoulides and Erhürman showing up at a Christmas reception hosted by the UN’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart.
Both men also held separate meetings with the EU’s special envoy for the Cyprus issue, Johannes Hahn, who was on the island for a two-day visit.
The big picture
Well-informed sources told Kathimerini that the meeting went “very well,” though no one is claiming a breakthrough or anything dramatic. Still, the simple fact that a trilateral meeting happened at all, something Ersin Tatar firmly refused for years, is seen in Nicosia as a positive step forward and a sign that diplomatic space is opening up again.
Athens and Nicosia coordinated closely ahead of the meeting, with the recent Christodoulides-Mitsotakis phone call underscoring a shared push for a broader conference on Cyprus “as soon as possible.”
According to the same sources, an informal “5+1” meeting now appears more likely to take place early in the new year, possibly between late January and early February.
Where things stand
President Christodoulides came into the meeting with what his team describes as a “creative and forward-leaning” approach, the belief that if political will exists, progress can follow. He also carried specific ideas in response to proposals submitted by Erhürman.
Erhürman, for his part, had already announced he would bring his positions directly to Holguín: four points he sees as prerequisites for an international conference, plus ten points tied to the current MOU process.
From Wednesday’s meeting, three main threads seem to be emerging:
• Confidence-building measures: how the UN can keep pushing them forward.
• The next phase of Holguín’s mission: including visits to Athens, Ankara, and London ahead of a possible expanded “5+1” format.
• Turkey’s stance: a decisive factor, especially as Cyprus prepares to take over the EU Council presidency, a moment that could accelerate certain diplomatic efforts.
The UN’s readout
In a statement after the three-hour meeting, the UN Representative in Cyprus said both leaders “pledged to continue working for tangible results” for both communities and committed to making the next, broader informal meeting a success.
They agreed that the ultimate goal remains a solution based on political equality, as set out in UN Security Council resolutions. Confidence-building measures, they said, help create a positive climate but cannot replace a comprehensive settlement.
The meeting was described as “positive and friendly,” with the leaders exchanging views on a wide range of issues aimed at easing tensions and encouraging progress.
They reviewed previously agreed confidence-building measures, discussed new ideas, and agreed to push for quick decisions, especially on opening new crossing points, resolving the halloumi/hellim PDO issue, and running pipelines from the wastewater treatment plant to occupied Mia Milia.
They also agreed to increase staffing at crossing points and welcomed the widening works at Agios Dometios, expected to finish in the coming months.
Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to attending the next informal expanded meeting and said they’re ready to meet “as often as necessary” in the meantime. Their representatives were instructed to keep up regular contact.
Earlier in the day, the two visited the CMP’s anthropological laboratory. There, they expressed deep appreciation for the committee’s humanitarian work and stressed the importance of keeping the process free from political interference. They also appealed to anyone with information about burial sites to come forward, assuring that confidentiality is strictly protected.
