Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar had a 45-minute meeting with UN special representative to Cyprus Colin Stewart on Monday.

The meeting took place ahead of Stewart’s expected departure to New York next week, where he is expected to brief the UN Security Council.

Stewart, who also heads the UN peacekeeping force (Unficyp) described the meeting positively, according to Turkish Cypriot press.

Reports from the north carried by the Cyprus News Agency reported Stewart encouraged Tatar to intensify efforts to try and find a way to establish a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem.

“As always, we had a positive exchange of opinions over a series of matters,” Stewart was quoted as saying.