Christodoulides ‘strongly dissatisfied’ with Holguin over meeting with Turkish envoy

President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday told UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin of his “strong dissatisfaction” at her meeting earlier in the day with Turkey’s ambassador to the occupied north.

Speaking to reporters following their meeting at the presidential palace, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the meeting with Ali Murat Basceri conflicts with UN Security Council Resolution 550.

He called the meeting “unacceptable” and “an unfortunate moment”.

“United Nations officials, United Nations representatives, should operate based on the Security Council resolutions,” he said.

He said the explanation given was that the Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay had arranged for the meeting to pass on a message.

Letymbiotis said Holguin’s contacts would continue, and that the sides would move towards a joint meeting on November 9.

“The real will and the real intention are evaluated through reaching agreements,” he said.

The president’s meeting with Holguin lasted just 30 minutes and was held at her request.

Leaving the palace, Holguin said she had “come to ask him some questions”.

She said they were specific and she preferred to put them in person instead of by telephone. “We hope to have good news,” she said.

She added she was “still optimistic’ regarding the Cyprus issue, after saying on Monday she hoped she was not the only optimistic person on the island.

Letymbiotis said Holguin briefed Christodoulides on her talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Monday and sought clarifications on issues raised on Friday.

He said the Greek Cypriot side hoped for a positive response that could lead to progress on all three pillars set by the UN Secretary-General and on the three proposals submitted by Christodoulides.

Asked whether the other side had made a counterproposal, he said it had “thoughts”, which were being discussed.

He declined to give details, saying the presidency did not intend to negotiate in public.

“The important thing is that our side has submitted very specific proposals, which are currently under negotiation,” he said.

Letymbiotis said progress and agreement were possible on many points “as long as there is the necessary political will on the other side”.

He said he expected more from the joint meeting than from Holguin’s separate meeting with Erhurman on Wednesday, as it would allow a thorough discussion of all three pillars.