Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given the go-ahead for a “new initiative” to be undertaken by the United Nations with the aim of bringing about a resumption of formal negotiations on the Cyprus problem, the Cyprus Mail understands.
High-level sources have informed the Cyprus Mail that Erdogan has expressed a positive view regarding the prospect of a “new initiative”, and that Turkey is willing to engage in negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem should it believe that there is the “requisite will” for a solution on the part of the Greek Cypriot side.
Erdogan is said to be of the view that the lack of a solution to the Cyprus problem has “unduly cost Turkey through no fault of its own” in recent decades, particularly in light of the fact that Turkish governments led by Erdogan supported both the 2004 Annan plan referendum and the failed negotiations in 2017 at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana.
The sources said that Turkey’s support of both the 2004 referendum and the 2017 negotiations, both of which were rejected by the Greek Cypriot side, constitute evidence of Erdogan’s “pragmatic and constructive stance” and “will to engage in the hope of securing a solution to the Cyprus problem”.
Given this to be the case, the sources said, Erdogan believes that exhibiting Turkey’s will for a mutually beneficial solution is the most likely avenue through which the country will be able to deepen its engagement both with Europe and the wider region, without the Cyprus problem presenting itself as an obstacle.
The sources said that with this in mind, he expects for an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the United Nations, to be convened within the coming months.
Erdogan’s green light comes as UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin is due to arrive on the island on Sunday. She is set to hold separate meetings with both Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman and President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday, before travelling to both Turkey and Greece thereafter.
The question of when a “new initiative” on the Cyprus problem may be undertaken has been ongoing for weeks, with Erhurman having said a month ago that such an initiative will begin in July, following the conclusion of Cyprus’ six-month term as the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency.
However, the Greek Cypriot side has insisted that such an initiative is “already underway”, with government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis having said that Christodoulides had “made public this initiative” after he met Guterres in Brussels in March.
Holguin most recently visited Cyprus in January, holding a tripartite meeting with both leaders, and saying thereafter that no enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem could be held until more before “results on the confidence-building measures” between the island’s two sides are achieved.
Some have suggested that the next enlarged meeting may take place as early as next month, exactly a year after the most recent enlarged meeting was held on July 16 and 17 last year, though it appears thus far that this timeline is likely to be extended.
