Nicosia has reaffirmed its support for a UN proposal to open crossing points at Mia Milia and Athienou simultaneously, while maintaining that confidence-building measures cannot replace substantive negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
The position came as President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman held their first meeting since UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ recent visit to Cyprus.
Meeting follows UN request
Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told CyBC radio programme Proino Dromologio that the meeting is taking place as part of the preparatory work requested by the UN secretary-general.
Discussions are focusing both on confidence-building measures and on the substance of the Cyprus problem, he said.
Nicosia backs simultaneous openings
Letymbiotis reiterated that confidence-building measures are not an end in themselves, stressing that the main objective remains substantive discussion of the Cyprus problem.
He also referred to the UN proposal for the simultaneous opening of crossing points at Mia Milia and Athienou, noting that Christodoulides had expressed his support for the proposal from the outset.
Video of the two leaders arriving:
