TRNC President Refuses Trilateral Meeting on Cyprus Issue

TRNC President Ersin Tatar declined a trilateral meeting with President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides after meeting with the personal representative of the UN Secretary-General, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar. On Monday, the UN envoy will meet again with the leaders of both communities.

As reported by Cyprus Mail, after the meeting with the Colombian diplomat, which took place the day before. Tatar stated that the UN envoy proposed to hold a trilateral meeting with herself and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, but this proposal was rejected.

“María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar proposed a trilateral meeting. However, we rejected this proposal,” said Ersin Tatar.

According to the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, “there is no common position between the parties,” so “there can be no talk of returning to the negotiating table unless the sovereign equality of the Cypriot-Turkish side is accepted.”

It is noted that the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (RTP) Tufan Erhürman criticized the position of the President of the TRNC, stating that this is not in the interest of the Turkish Cypriots.

Recall that the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General arrived in Cyprus on Tuesday. After being appointed as the personal representative of the UN Secretary-General in January 2024, the diplomat is making her third visit to the island to find common ground for resuming negotiations between the two communities.

Before meeting with the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, the envoy held talks with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.

It is expected that within the framework of the third round of negotiations, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar will continue her contacts on the island until May 14.

“I hope that the leaders will see the support of the international community and do everything to move forward. The responsibility now lies with the leaders,” said the diplomat after meeting with the leaders of the two communities.

The next meeting of the UN envoy with the leaders of the two communities on the island will take place on May 13, the day before her departure from Cyprus.