Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has rejected a proposal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a three-way meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides in New York, according to reports on Friday.

According to government sources, cited by the Cyprus News Agency, Erhurman had not agreed to a meeting between the two leaders and Guterres.

According to the report, Guterres had conveyed his wish for such a meeting through his personal envoy for Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, who held separate meetings with Christodoulides and Erhurman in New York. Christodoulides had responded positively to the proposal, the report said.

Erhurman is due to meet Guterres at 1pm New York time on Saturday.

Christodoulides will now return to Cyprus from New York as originally scheduled.