President Nikos Christodoulides will have a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Colin Stewart on Monday at the latter’s residence in the UN Protected Area at Nicosia Airport.

The meeting will take place at 10.30am local time and will discuss the opening of new crossing points, following on what was agreed upon during the informal dinner on October 15, 2024, hosted by the UN Secretary-General in New York for the two leaders.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the Greek Cypriot side is approaching the meeting with a “constructive stance.”

The Greek Cypriot side has already submitted proposals for the opening of crossings at Pyroi and Kokkina during the meetings of the negotiators of both sides with Stewart. The Turkish Cypriot side has referred to the opening of a regular crossing point at Mia Milia. In his recent report to the UN Security Council for the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate, Antonio Guterres welcomes the commitments made by the two Cypriot leaders on October 15 to explore the possibility of opening new crossing points.

“We are going with will and a constructive attitude to achieve progress in the meeting”, Letymbiotis told CNA ahead of Monday’s meeting. He said the necessary groundwork has been laid, with specific proposals and positions, “and we hope these will be discussed with the same sincere and positive disposition as ours.”

An event was held on Saturday in Pachyammos, Paphos district, where residents from the region called for the opening of a crossing point in Kokkina. On Friday, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot organisations held a joint event at the Ayios Dhometios checkpoint demanding the opening of new crossing points.

On October 15, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted an informal dinner with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York, encouraging “the leaders to consider how to bridge the gap in their positions and rebuild trust to allow movement leading to a settlement.”

At the meeting, President Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to have an informal meeting in a broader format in the near future, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, to discuss the way forward. They also agreed to have a meeting in Cyprus to explore the possibility of opening new crossings.