Christodoulides and Erhurman to meet in the afternoon

President Nikos Christodoulides is scheduled to meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman at the residence of the UN special representative in Cyprus Khassim Diagne in Nicosia on Monday afternoon.

According to sources close to the government, the meeting is expected to begin at 4.30pm.

During their meeting, the two leaders are anticipated to share their perspectives on what was discussed in their meetings with the with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, how the UN perceives the path to progress on the Cyprus problem, as well as the subsequent course of action on the latter.

In a statement on Sunday, deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou said that Christodoulides intended to attend the meeting with “the necessary political will and a creative approach”, with the aim of resuming direct negotiations within the agreed framework.

“If the other side moves with the same approach, then well-founded expectations are created for the next step,” Antoniou said.

Monday’s meeting marks the first joint gathering after February 24, with the latter having ended without a joint statement. A previous meeting was held on 28 January earlier this year.

Christodoulides had last met with Guterres in Brussels on March 18, while Erhurman last met Guterres in New York on 11 February.