US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland in a recent meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides dropped a name for a possible UN special envoy, it emerged on Thursday.

Nuland mentioned the name of a person who in Washington’s view, could assume the role of trying to broker a breakthrough on the Cyprus issue, according to a report in Philenews.

The United States is one of the countries that has been supportive of the appointment of a United Nations envoy from the start and this was expressed recently in meetings held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Christodoulides told the National Council during his briefing on Tuesday that the US undersecretary had put forth a name during his meeting with her in New York, according to the daily news source. The person’s name has not been announced.

The proposal of a specific appointee is taken by Nicosia as an indication that Turkey cannot continue to hold its intractable position and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar recently was seen to be making a turnabout in his statements on the issue.

Having previously stated he would “never” accept such an envoy, in an interview with a Turkish Cypriot journalist on Tuesday, Tatar said, “There could, under certain conditions, be a personal envoy who would work directly with the UN secretary-general.

“I told [UN Secretary General Antonio] Guterres that we are very opposed to the appointment of the special representative to implement Security Council decisions, to make reports, and to impose a federal solution onto us,” he also said.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appeared positive to the proposal in his meeting with the UNSG, but deferred to Tatar as the final decision-maker.

Nicosia seems to be interpreting these outcomes as indicative of the fact that international pressure has left the Turkish side looking for ways to accept the appointment of an envoy and talk back its initial bullish stance, to which Christodoulides responded with a call to “work together for peace”.

Despite the claim by Fidan that the Turkish Cypriot leader was in charge of a final decision, the UN and the EU are sceptical of any differentiated position between Turkey and Tatar. Moreover, Turkey’s seemingly positive stance is regarded with caution particularly after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s no-show in what had been touted as a ‘pivotal’ meeting.

Christodoulides, for his part, secured the support for an envoy in New York from the five permanent members of the security council, although Russia argued that an envoy could not be unilaterally appointed by the UNSG and that it is the job of the council to do so. During this meeting names of persons who could fill the role of envoy were discussed.

Following the failure to materialise a trilateral meeting between the UNSG, Christodoulides and Tatar, or to appoint a special adviser in New York, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Tuesday said the “next milestone” for the Cyprus problem would be the European Council meeting in December.

According to analysts, it is clear that Turkey, like Nicosia, is linking the Cyprus issue with the EU, and the progress report which has been slated for December, and a bid by Turkey to link the energy sector with the issue is not excluded.

In the meantime, the UN is still awaiting a definitive response from Tatar amid speculation that the Turkish Cypriot leader is playing for time since he initially told the UNSG that he would respond by Monday but then deferred to the end of the week.

It appears that the announcement by the president of confidence building measures (CBMs) to ease daily life for Turkish Cypriots, will now be subject to what is announced by Tatar.

Energy issues are out of the question Christodoulides said, according to the news source, but the issue of crossing points, including at Pyroi and Kokkina, could be on the table.