"Progress has been achieved on the hellim issue, which had previously been included in our 10-Point Proposal."

President Tufan Erhürman held a press conference at the Presidency on Thursday evening following the trilateral meeting in the UN buffer zone with the Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Christodoulides with the participation of María Ángela Holguín, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General.

Stating that the meeting, which lasted more than three hours, focused on three main elements, President Erhürman stated that these were the four-point methodology he proposed; initiatives to build trust previously discussed and worked upon between former President Ersin Tatar and the Greek Cypriot Leader; and the 10-point proposal he put forward at their last meeting.

President Erhürman recalled that he had put forward his 10-point proposal during the previous meeting with Ms. Holguín and Greek Cypriot Leader Christodoulides, noting that “on this occasion, it was the turn of the Greek Cypriot Leader to talk”, adding: “I today listened Mr. Christodoulides without offering an immediate response to the issues he raised.”

President Erhürman stated that “one of the items in my 10-point proposal concerns the Hellim issue, and, as confirmed in today’s joint statement, the matter is expected to be concluded by the end of January".

Referring to another point in his proposal -- addressing traffic congestion at the Metehan crossing point by increasing the number of booths and personnel on the Greek Cypriot side -- President Erhürman stressed that the “joint statement also includes the agreement to increase the staff for services required at all crossing points".

President Erhürman continued: “An agreement has also been reached to facilitate road tax payments at the Bostancı and Derinya crossing points. These measures are expected to ease traffic congestion at the Metehan crossing, and we continue to work on the issue of other crossing points.  In addition, we agreed that substantial work will be carried out for the construction of pipelines from the Haspolat Water Treatment Plant – with discussions on all relevant issues on this matter to be continued.”


President Erhürman: “The fundamental objective is the solution of the Cyprus problem”

President Erhürman stressed that the discussions in the trilateral meeting were not limited to initiatives to building trust between the two sides, adding that the “fundamental objective is the solution of the Cyprus problem”. He underlined that the “meeting underscored the importance of political equality in achieving the envisaged solution”.

President Erhürman stated that part of the first element of his four-point methodology proposal – deemed necessary to start formal negotiations -- was recorded in today’s trilateral meeting, but he emphasised that “unless the remaining elements are accepted, the significance of the proposal is meaningless", adding that "formal negotiations cannot be started until all four points are agreed”.

Emphasising the objective to ensure that future 5+1 meetings in a broader format are productive, President Erhürman continued: “Whilst small steps are important, they are not sufficient on their own and do not address the substance of the issues. Our aim is to achieve tangible progress -- such as on the crossing points -- before entering the 5+1 meetings.”

When asked as to why the meeting lasted longer than anticipated, President Erhürman explained: “Mr. Christodoulides did not present proposals in the previous meeting, however he did so this time. Meeting discussions are conducted in turn, which naturally takes time to allow each side to put forward their respective views and positions. The focus on, and explanation of the importance of achieving a comprehensive solution was time intensive. Additionally, discussions were held  from the previous period, and an assessment was conducted on the solar power plant project in the UN buffer zone.”

In response to another question, President Erhürman said that the issue of guarantees was not raised during the meeting and emphasised that no topics related to comprehensive settlement negotiations were discussed.

Affirming that the overarching goal is a comprehensive solution, President Erhürman recalled that efforts toward a settlement have been ongoing in Cyprus for the past 50 years and stressed the need to "learn from past failures in the negotiation processes and ensure that meaningful changes are made to create a conducive environment for a settlement."

Referring to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement that “this time must be different,” President Erhürman said: “We are not approaching this process with the aim of simply sitting at the table in the hope of reaching a solution. We seek a negotiating table that genuinely leads to a solution. Political equality must be recognised and accepted from the outset and cannot be treated as a subject for negotiation at the table.”

President Erhürman stated that the trilateral meeting was productive in terms of progress on the hellim issue and the crossing points.


The Press Statement that was issued following the meeting by the UN Spokesperson in Cyprus reads as follows:

Today, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Tufan Erhürman, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, held a meeting under the facilitation of the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ms. María Angela Holguín Cuéllar in the United Nations Good Offices Mission premises. 

The meeting took place in a positive and friendly atmosphere. The leaders exchanged views on a wide range of issues aimed at creating a climate conducive to settlement as well as efforts towards reaching a solution to the Cyprus issue. The two leaders agreed that the real aim is the solution of the Cyprus problem with political equality as described in the UN Security Council Resolutions. Confidence building measures are important for creating a conducive environment but are not a substitute to achieving a solution to the Cyprus problem. 

The leaders had a stocktaking discussion on previously agreed trust building initiatives, they discussed new ideas, and they agreed to concentrate on achieving agreements as soon as possible, especially on the issue of the opening of new crossing points, the Halloumi/Hellim issue and the construction of pipelines from the Mia Milia/Haspolat Water Treatment Plant. They also agreed to increasing the staff for services required at the crossing points. Both leaders welcomed the works for the widening of the road at the Agios Dometios/Metehan crossing point and look forward to its completion in the coming months. 

Both leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to participate in the next informal meeting in a broader format to be convened by the UN Secretary-General. They committed to continue to work in the meantime in Cyprus to produce tangible results for the benefit of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to ensure the success of the next informal meeting in a broader format.

To this end, they expressed their willingness to meet as often as needed and instructed their representatives to continue their regular meetings.

Prior to their meeting, the leaders visited the anthropological laboratory of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus. On this occasion, they expressed great appreciation for the effective humanitarian work conducted by the CMP, including the Committee members, the anthropological laboratory personnel, all involved staff and to the donors.

Mr. Christodoulides and Mr. Erhürman emphasised the critical importance of keeping the CMP’s work free from political interference, urging all to refrain from politicizing this humanitarian process. They also appealed to anyone with information regarding potential burial sites to share it with the CMP, and assured that the principle of confidentiality will be strictly observed.