A planned meeting on Monday between United Nations special representative for Cyprus Maria Angela Holguin and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara was on Monday postponed until Thursday.

However, Holguin stressed the importance of the meeting for clarifying the next steps in the Cyprus problem.

Holguin is in Ankara after a trilateral meeting on Thursday last week between herself, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cyprus leader Tufan Erhurman followed by a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Holguin said a second trilateral meeting is planned for late January, which is expected to prepare the ground for possible wider talks.

She plans to propose an informal meeting in an expanded “five plus one” format.

This format would include the two Cypriot sides, the guarantor powers Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.

She said both leaders have expressed willingness to enter a new phase.

An informal expanded meeting is being considered for February, with the possible participation of the UN secretary general.

Holguin said January will be a decisive preparation period. During this time, negotiating teams from both sides are expected to resolve technical and procedural issues before any new leaders’ meeting.

The contacts she has had up to now, she said, highlight both opportunities and weaknesses in the current process.

Political discussions were more substantive than in previous rounds, but technical preparation was limited.

She said when leaders are forced to debate technical details, the purpose of political dialogue is undermined. She added that negotiators must arrive with clear and workable proposals.