The enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem that President Nikos Christodoulides has been asking for will take place in either July or August said the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, after meetings with the two leaders on Monday. She did not know the exact date, but it would be held in the coming months.

The last 5+1 meeting under UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which the three guarantor powers were also represented, was held last July, but achieved little other than an agreement of the two sides to undertake confidence-building measures. A couple of measures were implemented but the opening of new crossing points, regarded of vital importance, never materialised and Guterres saw no need to call another enlarged meeting.

Now, there appears to be a change of plan. The confidence-building measures and discussion of technical matters have been put aside by the UN and there is talk of moving directly to the setting up of direct talks. After the meeting with Holguin, Christodoulides said he was “cautiously optimistic,” because “in essence, the discussions are not vague and general, but very specific.” On Tuesday, he told reporters that a big effort was underway so that conditions were created for an enlarged meeting at which the resumption of talks would be announced.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman was more cautious in talking about the enlarged meeting, saying that it had to be properly prepared if it were to produce tangible results. Preparatory work would be vital for a positive outcome, he said, repeating his support for a three-stage process that would include agreement on confidence-building measures and on the framework of the negotiation process, before moving to substantive negotiations.

This appears a sensible approach, even though the UN has decided to skip the confidence-building measures that are delaying the start of a proper process. It would be better to focus discussions on finding a formula for the resumption of talks, instead of wasting time on confidence measures, before engaging in preparatory work. At least, if the sides fail to agree on the agenda for a 5+1 meeting, there would be no point to the process. Guterres would be stepping down in December and his successor might not consider the Cyprus problem worth spending time and resources on.

If the effort to get the two sides to agree to the process that would be set in motion by the 5+1 meeting in July or August, that could be it. This is what Christodoulides should bear in mind during the preparatory discussions that would take place in the next few weeks, because once this opportunity missed it is very unlikely there would another one round the corner.