Erhürman and Christodulides set date for meeting
The first introductory meeting between the island’s two leaders has been officially scheduled, marking a new stage in UN-facilitated contact after a long period of political distance.
The leaders will meet this Thursday, November 20.
Commenting on the upcoming meeting, President Tufan Erhürman cautioned that Thursday’s meeting with Nikos Christodoulides should be approached with realistic expectations, stressing the need to rebuild trust and avoid premature optimism.
The leaders will meet on Thursday, 20 November, at 9:30 am for a one-hour introductory encounter hosted at the residence of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the buffer zone.
This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the recently elected President Tufan Erhürman and the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodulides, a development the UN describes as an opportunity to establish basic communication channels and assess the atmosphere for future engagement.
Sharing his assessment of the upcoming meeting, President Tufan Erhürman noted that the eight years that have passed since 2017 have not made it easy to rebuild hopes for a settlement on the island.
He said it would be overly optimistic to claim the island currently enjoys a genuine “solution atmosphere,” adding that it is the responsibility of both leaders to create it.
Erhürman underlined that sincerity, real commitment, mutual trust and avoiding media-based blame games are essential if the process is to move forward.
The president said he would exercise the utmost care in his own public statements regarding the process, noting that comments on issues outside the talks would naturally continue but direct remarks about the process itself must be handled responsibly.
He warned that expecting clarity on all topics within an hour — or creating such an expectation — would be misleading.
He expressed hope that the opening encounter will take place in a sincere atmosphere capable of establishing mutual trust.
Erhürman said the aim should be to initiate a structured series of meetings that will continue at reasonable intervals, emphasising that responsible leadership is required to rebuild confidence and create a climate conducive to progress.
source: brtk
