The Turkish Cypriot negotiator, Mehmet Dana, is expected to raise procedural issues in Friday's first meeting with Menelaos Menelaou. According to reports, the two will summarise any new elements on the table, assess them at a purely technical level, and provide the leaders with the flexibility to make political decisions ahead of Maria Angela Holguín’s visit next week.
A few days after the first communication between the two leaders in Cyprus, and a few days before the arrival of the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguín, Friday marks the first meeting between Menelaos Menelaou and Mehmet Dana, the Turkish Cypriot technocrat appointed by newly elected TC leader Tufan Erhürman. This will effectively be the start of a new effort to address the Cyprus problem.
According to reliable sources, the two negotiators will try once again to clarify the goals of both sides, both in relation to preparing the process for the leaders’ meeting with the UN envoy and in the initial assessment of immediate steps regarding the widely accepted effort to improve communication between the two sides.
Political decisions
Based on the experience of such work, the negotiators will aim for tangible results, focusing discussions on practical issues while giving the leaders the opportunity to make political decisions. These decisions will be made in the presence of Holguín, in meetings with each leader separately, as well as in the joint agreed meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman with the UN official.
Confidence-building measures
As understood, today’s meeting, along with subsequent meetings, may be technical in nature but forms part of an overall enhanced way in which the sides will work in the coming period. The primary defined goal is the informal five-party meeting envisaged and announced by the Secretary-General, though the date has not yet been set.
It should be noted that in the last informal five-party meeting in July in New York, as well as the previous one in Geneva, no substantive discussions took place. The Secretary-General merely noted the parties’ failure to agree on complex measures to improve people’s lives, particularly regarding the opening of new crossings on the Green Line and the implementation of solar energy plans. Of the other initiatives requested by Antonio Guterres in previous informal five-party meetings, the technical committee for youth was established, and agreements on initiatives for the environment, climate change, cemetery restoration, and a demining agreement, once technical details are finalised, were announced.
Reciprocal moves
The new developments, including the change in the Turkish Cypriot leader and Erhürman’s proposals to improve the climate, create a need for the Greek Cypriot side to be ready and better prepared to present its proposals on low-level political issues. Sources indicate that the Greek Cypriot side expects a more flexible approach from the new situation on the other side, especially regarding the opening of new crossings. Diplomatic sources note that discussions on low-level, but not insignificant, issues are inevitable and should happen immediately.
Timeline and substance
There also needs to be reflection on the Turkish Cypriot side’s insistence that discussions in the near future focus on establishing a strict timetable, that is a defined process for addressing the substance of the problem. According to Turkish Cypriot circles, the main task of the parties is to structure the process, after which the agenda will follow. This insistence will be evident today and in meetings with Maria Holguín. For the Turkish Cypriot side, structuring the process is the UN’s responsibility. The parties reportedly have no issue raising substantive issues among themselves, but these discussions should be structured.
In short, the discussions in the coming days will also focus on shaping how the process will restart with a roadmap, something that Tufan Erhürman presented to the President. This aspect is expected to be incorporated into the meetings with Ms Holguín, rather than the negotiators’ agenda.