In Cyprus, meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman ends without joint statement
In Cyprus, a meeting between President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman in the buffer zone ended without a joint statement. The talks lasted about one hour and 15 minutes, after which the participants departed, Cyprus Mail reports.
Exchange of statements before the talks
The meeting took place after the politicians publicly exchanged sharp statements on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Christodoulides had earlier told the newspaper Yeniduzen that both leaders could make history together in resolving the Cyprus issue.
In response, Erhürman said that this would not be easy in the current political situation on the island. According to him, initiatives promoted through agreements with other countries, including Israel and Greece, do not take Turkish Cypriots into account and could endanger lasting peace and stability on the island and in the region.
Erhürman also claimed that trust is being undermined by issues related to the Barcelona process, festivals, the property issue, and European Parliament resolutions. He called these resolutions unilateral and biased.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Position of the Cypriot president
Before leaving for the talks, Christodoulides said that if there is genuine political will, the sides can achieve a historic result. He added that he was going to the meeting with that mindset, but that without political will, in his view, other statements would be heard.
Commenting on the cancellation of events in the north of the island, including the FC Barcelona children's football camp and the Exit music festival in Kyrenia, Christodoulides said that similar things had happened before. He stated his intention to change the current state of affairs and reunite the country.
The president addressed Turkish Cypriots and their leader, saying that if the current situation is maintained, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will lose. According to him, the future of all Cyprus' communities must be better.
