The two leaders on Tuesday held a one-hour tête-à-tête followed by “constructive” discussions with three bicommunal committees working on joint projects.
Despite the rare occasion of jointly attending meetings with the Technical Committees on Youth and Cultural Heritage, as well as the newly formed Standing Committee of the Consultative Body on Civil Society, the leaders kept their thoughts close to their chests, choosing not to issue a joint statement after.
‘Very good’ talks
On his return from the UN Good Offices, President Nikos Christodoulides said he had a “very good and constructive” discussion with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman which will continue during UN Personal Envoy María Ángela Holguín’s presence on the island.
“For this reason, we agreed that we would not make any further statements on any specific issues and, for the same reason, we agreed not to issue a joint communiqué,” he said.
Holguín is due to arrive on Thursday, most likely for her last visit to Cyprus as UN envoy. She is scheduled to meet with Christodoulides on Friday and will also meet bilaterally with Erhürman though no date has been announced. A trilateral with both leaders has been set for 9 November.
Erhürman, meanwhile, is due to travel to Ankara tomorrow to attend the 13th Summit of the Organisation of Turkic States, returning to the island on Friday.
As a symbolic gesture of goodwill, the UN Good Offices on Tuesday presented the two leaders with bottles of olive oil produced from olive trees planted by former leaders Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat in the UN Protected Area on 15 October 2009 “as a sign of their commitment to peace in Cyprus”.
According to sources, while the leaders’ discussion went well, the bilateral meeting did not produce any substantive measure on the pending issues.
‘Constructive’ meetings with bicommunal groups
On the back-to-back meetings with the Technical Committees and the Consultative Body, lasting in total over an hour and a half, Christodoulides said discussions were “constructive”. Several views and suggestions were put forward which the two leaders will discuss in their bilaterals, he added.
Sources told Politis that the three meetings were very productive and useful with participants showing enthusiasm for the presence of the two leaders. All three bicommunal committees highlighted the importance of political support for their work and the need for additional financial assistance, said one source.
Citizens’ input
The two leaders met first with the Steering Committee of the Civil Society Consultative Body, formed just two months ago.
According to sources, the members of the steering committee gave an overview to the leaders of their achievements to date and laid out next steps, while discussing potential assistance the leaders could provide. For their part, the leaders provided their views and asked members to continue to engage with them regarding preparations, demonstrating full support for their efforts.
Politis understands the committee is currently in the process of designing the rules and processes of the first civic assembly, including 80-100 participants, that it aims to launch in February or March 2027.
It remains to be seen what question or issue the committee will pose to participants to deliberate on over a period of time and how the leaders will agree to approach the outcome of those discussions, including potential recommendations.
Several committee members recently attended a talk by Irish expert on citizens’ assemblies, Art O’Leary, who highlighted the importance of having a randomly selected representative assembly including all views, as well as the need for political support, and a clear understanding of what the leadership will do with the outcome of any process.
Youth leads by example
Members of the bicommunal Youth Technical Committee briefed the leaders on the good collaboration they have enjoyed since their inaugural meeting in May 2025, holding over 50 meetings and conducting eight activities to date. They informed the leaders of an event planned for next week, where professionals from both communities will meet with youth from across the divide to discuss needs, opportunities and working environments.
Members noted that the support and faith shown by the leaders in the committee were a source of strength and motivation for them.
Gifts and smiles in Cultural Heritage Committee
In what sources described as a “positive climate”, the leaders heard a summary of the Cultural Heritage Committee’s work by the co-chairs, spoke with members and expressed support for their work.
The committee also gifted the two leaders framed photographs of cultural heritage projects during the meeting.
Three objectives heading into talks
In contrast to the dearth of comments post-meeting, on his way to the UN-controlled buffer zone, the president said he was going with three objectives, based on his 19 proposals submitted orally last month.
First, he planned to discuss a new proposal on crossing points to get the sides out of the quagmire, noting this was his third or fourth alternative proposal aimed at achieving a positive outcome.
Christodoulides reminded reporters that when UN Secretary-General António Guterres was in Cyprus last July, he proposed a “reasonable compromise” on Pyroi-Athienou and Mia Milia “for which he was expecting an announcement to be made” during the dinner with the two leaders on 28 July.
The president argued that while the Greek Cypriot side had accepted the UNSG’s proposal, “it was not accepted by the Turkish side”.
His second objective was to discuss his “bold” proposal on the fenced-off area of Famagusta and direct trade, which creates positive conditions for both sides, he said.
And finally, Christodoulides said he wished to discuss a proposal he shared with Guterres, Holguín and Erhürman on methodology, how to move forward on confidence-building measures, and towards a resumption of talks.
The president took credit for the proposal to jointly attend committee meetings which the leaders did on Tuesday, saying it was one of his 19 new proposals.
He also noted that setting up a Consultative Body Standing Committee was a Greek Cypriot proposal.
On the establishment of a Youth Committee, he credited UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo for proposing the idea when visiting Cyprus in 2023.
“We accepted it immediately. It was accepted by the Turkish side two years later,” he said.
