Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhurman agreed to attend a bicommunal festival in Pyla on October 17 and meet again the following week. Their October 13 discussion renewed direct contacts ahead of UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s anticipated visit, while differences over the agenda and confidence-building proposals remained.
Nikos Christodoulides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Tufan Erhurman, the Turkish Cypriot leader, agreed on October 13 to attend a bicommunal festival together in Pyla, a village in Cyprus. Their joint appearance is planned for October 17. They also agreed to another meeting the following week, continuing direct contact under United Nations auspices.[1], [2]
Christodoulides said his 19 proposals remained on the table and were known to Erhurman and the UN secretary-general. He had submitted them ahead of September’s high-level UN meetings in New York, when a leaders’ meeting did not take place. He disputed an agenda confined to seven confidence-building measures, saying the agenda required mutual agreement. Erhurman wanted a result-oriented discussion of those seven proposals and said he had accepted six.[1]
The festival arrangements involve committees on cultural heritage, youth and civil society. Confidence-building proposals cover crossings, mine clearance, children of mixed marriages, sport, disaster response and irregular migration. UN personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s visit is anticipated. She had warned that the diplomatic window was narrowing amid tensions in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean. Christodoulides’ full proposal list has not been made public.[1]
