New meeting in the coming days between President and Turkish Cypriot leader regarding roadblocks

In the coming days, there will be a new meeting between the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, on the issue of opening new crossing points, as stated in their joint statement, which was issued immediately after the meeting.

The meeting concluded at around 12:30 and lasted around one hour and forty-five minutes and was held under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, at Nicosia airport.

According to the joint statement issued by the United Nations Mission in Cyprus, “the two leaders believe that the opening of new crossing points is crucial to promote people-to-people contacts, strengthen economic ties and build trust.” These efforts are intended, it is stated, “to create tangible socio-economic benefits across the island, creating new opportunities and improving livelihoods, for the benefit of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.”

It is also reported that on the occasion of today's meeting and exchange of views, they also discussed other ideas.

"Convinced that the opening of the new crossing points will also contribute to creating a constructive climate in view of the informal expanded meeting, they instructed the negotiator and the special representative to continue the meetings and agreed to meet again in the coming days," it added.

The meeting is taking place as a follow-up to what was agreed upon during the informal dinner on October 15, 2024, hosted by the UN Secretary-General in New York to the President and the Turkish Cypriot leader.