All major issues relating to the Cyprus problem are expected to be discussed during the forthcoming visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Cyprus, in what could become the most significant UN intervention in the issue in years.
According to information obtained by Politis, Guterres is seeking to establish a shared understanding of the next steps in the process and make clear to both sides that the international community expects concrete progress rather than dialogue without prospects for results.
Two meetings with the leaders
During his stay, Guterres will hold two joint meetings with President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.
The first will take place over a private dinner at the residence of the UN special representative in Cyprus, away from the media spotlight. The second is scheduled for the following morning at the UN Good Offices Mission headquarters in the protected area of the former Nicosia airport.
Guterres will be accompanied by Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, and his personal envoy on Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín.
His programme also includes separate meetings with Christodoulides and Erhürman, a wreath-laying ceremony at the peacekeepers' memorial outside Ledra Palace, a visit to the Committee on Missing Persons' Anthropological Laboratory, and meetings with the negotiators of both sides, bicommunal technical committee representatives and members of civil society.
A press conference by Guterres is expected to follow the leaders' joint meeting before his departure from the island.
Holguín's consultations
Meanwhile, Holguín continues preparations ahead of the secretary-general's visit.
On Wednesday she will meet Raffaele Fitto, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President and the newly appointed EU special representative for the Cyprus issue, in Brussels.
According to information, she is also expected to hold talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Holguín will then travel to Ankara before heading to Nicosia for the final phase of consultations ahead of Guterres' arrival.
Erhürman rejects open-ended talks
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman has reiterated his support for Guterres' efforts but rejected the prospect of another open-ended negotiating process without a clear objective.
Speaking in the north, Erhürman said the Turkish Cypriot side wants a process capable of producing tangible results rather than a repetition of unsuccessful rounds of talks or meetings "for the sake of meetings."
He repeated the Turkish Cypriot position that issues concerning political equality, security and the international status of Turkish Cypriots are not open to negotiation. He also argued that meaningful confidence-building measures and an agreed framework should precede any new process in order to avoid another failure.
Erhürman added that all moves by the Turkish Cypriot side are being coordinated closely with Turkey.
Erdoğan skips anniversary events
Attention has also focused on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's decision not to attend events in the north marking the anniversary of the Turkish invasion on 20 July.
According to Turkish and Turkish Cypriot sources, the absence is being linked to Guterres' upcoming visit and potential messages the UN chief may bring to the island.
Marking the anniversary, Erdoğan nevertheless reaffirmed Turkey's support for the Turkish Cypriot side, saying Ankara, as the "motherland" and guarantor power, would never abandon Turkish Cypriots and reiterating Turkey's longstanding positions on the Cyprus issue.
