Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Tuesday held a telephone call with the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty.

Erhurman’s office said during the call, “the latest developments regarding the Cyprus issue were discussed and views were exchanged”.

The call comes after Erhurman participated in a tripartite meeting with United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin and President Nikos Christodoulides over the Cyprus problem last week, with Holguin on Monday having described that meeting as “a very good start” to discussions.

“The meeting was deep, frank and extremely open. From my point of view, this was a very good start. For the first time in five years, [last Thursday], the two leaders met face to face and addressed fundamental political issues,” she said.

The call is the first official contact Doughty has had since he welcomed Erhurman’s predecessor Ersin Tatar to the Palace of Westminster, the UK’s parliament building, in June.