By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman said September 28 that he did not reject a proposed three-way meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides in New York. He said he was ready to attend if there was a possibility of agreement on several confidence-building measures already before the two sides.
Christodoulides has said the Turkish side responded negatively. UN envoy María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar says no trilateral had originally been scheduled, that Christodoulides proposed one during the week and that Erhürman "did not consider it" at that stage.
A Meeting That Was Not on the Original Schedule
Erhürman gave a detailed chronology at his post-New York press conference.
He said there was no discussion of a trilateral when he first met Holguín on the morning of September 24. He later received word through his representative Mehmet Dânâ that Christodoulides had proposed one.
Erhürman told Holguín that agreement on all seven confidence-building measures was not necessary. If there was a possibility of agreement on several, he said, he would attend. He said no further response came to that message.
Christodoulides gave a different account after meeting Guterres on September 24. He told reporters that a trilateral was "in the thoughts" of the secretary-general and that a response was needed from the other side. Two days later, the Republic of Cyprus Presidency said the Turkish side had responded negatively and prevented the meeting from taking place.
Holguín confirmed on September 27 that a three-way meeting had not initially been planned and that Christodoulides proposed one during the week. She said Erhürman "did not consider it" at that moment.
In an interview with ANKA News Agency published September 28, Holguín said Erhürman asked whether Christodoulides was bringing a new proposal that could justify the meeting. She told him the Greek Cypriot leader was repeating proposals already presented at an earlier leaders' meeting. Erhürman concluded that another meeting under those conditions would not produce a positive result.
Seven Points and 19 New Proposals
The disagreement now extends to what the two sides should discuss before another high-level meeting.
Erhürman said Guterres had already put seven areas before the leaders: new crossing points, demining, joint disaster response, cooperation against irregular migration, civil society, sports and issues affecting children born of mixed marriages.
He wants work to remain on those areas rather than shift to a package of 19 proposals presented by Christodoulides.
"My concern is to make progress," Erhürman said. He used the Turkish expression "pişmiş aşa su katmak," literally adding water to an already cooked dish, to argue that the 19 proposals would complicate work already under way on the seven existing items.
The dispute was already visible before the September 28 press conference. In New York, Erhürman said Guterres had tied another 5+1 meeting to meaningful progress on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues.
Christodoulides has described his package differently. On September 24, he said the 19 ideas covered confidence-building measures, methodology and substance, and that Guterres had received them positively. The Republic of Cyprus Presidency has not publicly released the full package.
Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou set out the Greek Cypriot side's latest position on September 28. He told the Cyprus News Agency that Guterres remained determined to exhaust every effort on Cyprus through the final day of his term and that the goal was an expanded meeting followed by the resumption of negotiations. Menelaou also accused the Turkish Cypriot side of slowing efforts to move the process forward.
The Methodology Dispute
Erhürman wants leaders-level meetings to follow preparatory work rather than replace it.
He said he had already met Christodoulides 11 times in Nicosia and remained ready to meet more frequently. His preference is to narrow disagreements there and move to a trilateral or 5+1 when an agreement appears possible.
Holguín has said the United Nations completed its compilation of previous convergences and will make the record available once negotiations begin. The two sides will also be asked to submit proposals on negotiating methodology. She is expected back on the island in October.
The issue is already part of the dispute over previous convergences and the rules for a renewed Cyprus process.
In her September 28 ANKA News Agency interview, Holguín warned that the diplomatic opportunity available over the past year was narrowing as tensions increased in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. She said confidence-building measures were also being held back by insufficient political will and actions that worsened the atmosphere around the talks.
The Settlement Basis Is Still Contested
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu told UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo in New York that any agreement could only rest on the sovereign equality and equal international status of two states.
The Greek Cypriot side maintains the existing UN framework. Christodoulides said the negotiating acquis and settlement basis would remain intact. In his UN General Assembly address, he separately cited UN Security Council resolutions, international law and European Union law as the framework for a settlement.
Guterres has asked the leaders to advance the confidence-building measures. Holguín is due back on the island in October, when the seven-point confidence-building agenda and proposals on negotiating methodology are expected to return to the UN process.
Sources: Turkish Cypriot Presidency, Republic of Cyprus Presidency, Cyprus News Agency, ANKA News Agency, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry, United Nations, Bosphorus News review and reporting.